You all know the drill. It's Know the Prospect time. Our first two neophytes, Kenneth Faried and Klay Thompson, each have one skill that is defined and could translate to the NBA. With Faried, it's his tenacious rebounding. With Thompson, it's that NBA-ready shot. Now we translate to a prospect that possesses that one buzzword that makes everyone drool and cringe at the same time: potential.

Potential is a word that can evoke excitement and utter disappointment. I think I want to just replace the word "potential" with "Anthony Randolph" because no player sucked me in to the back-and-forth about what said player would become. Randolph shows flashes of the player he was projected to become, but never quite gets there. Sure, part of that is opportunity, which he didn't get much of in New York, and he is still incredibly young and has tons of time to develop. But Randolph still hasn't gotten there and is still just a player with potential. When a player with "Anthony Randolph" does actually pan out, like a Monta Ellis, Al Jefferson, or Josh Smith, it is incredibly fulfilling. But for every one of these guys, there are just as many Sebastian Telfair's, Brandan Wright's, and Alexis Ajinca's of the world.

Our prospect today is Lucas "Bebe" Nogueira, and he has TONS of "Anthony Randolph."

Star-divide

Lucas Riva Amarante Nogueira is an 18-year-old center who plays on the youth team for Asefe Estudiantes. The parent club is in Spain's top division, the ACB, and is comprised of players like Jiri Welsh and Nik Caner-Medley! The youth club sits in the 5th division, which is very low-level basketball. The kid hasn't really played against anyone great in Europe, but has decided to enter this year's draft.

Nogueira hails from Brazil. The list of players to come out of Brazil recently is rather impressive. Nene, Anderson Varejao, and Leandro Barbosa have all been productive to highly productive players for playoff teams. Nogueira is the next up-and-coming Brazilian prospect, and what has scouts drooling is his size. Nogueira is a legit seven-footer at just 18 years of age, so there is no telling what his body will turn out to be. Nogeuira impressed during last Summer's FIBA U-18 games in San Antonio. In the gold-medal game against the US (which sported guys like Kyrie Irving, Austin Rivers, and Patric Young) he put up a silly line of 22-14-3 (BLK), and that was when he was just 17.

The run-down (without The Rock):

Measurements: 6' 11.5"; Weight: around 218 lbs.; Wingspan: a vulture-like 7'6"; Vertical: unknown, but my guess is he is youthful enough to jump higher than five inches off the ground.

Projected Draft Position (as of right now): 21 on DraftExpress.com, 23 on ProBasketballDraft.com, NBADraft and HoopsHype aren't updated yet for Nogueira

Actual Scouting Reports: DraftExpress; NBADraft.net; ProBasketballDraft.com.

Amateur Take-Offense: I have never seen Nogueira play, so all of this is based on what I have read about him. He is raw, like sushi-raw, which can be expected of a teenager who hasn't played againts high-level competition. He gets a lot of his points in transition, on put-backs, and other stuff. From what I understand, he doesn't have much of a mid-range game, but he can run like a deer and has quick feet. Those are good qualities for a post player, especially in Mike D'Antoni's supposedly fast-paced system.

Amateur Take-Defense: Apparently, this is where Nogueira makes his impact felt. Because of his height and that freakish wingspan of his, he has all the tools to be a tremendous shot-blocker. Those same tools also make him a great rebounder, which is one of those things the Knicks need! That kind of big body would be something the Knicks desperately need on the interior. He is quite slender right now at just shy of 220 pounds, but I'm sure he would be able to put on weight and muscle to make him into a more imposing defender.

Comparison: NBADraft compares him to Tyson Chandler. Not bad.

Random Red Flag: One of the biggest knocks on Nogueira is his work ethic. The kid is apparently lazy, has a "star's attitude", is difficult to work with, and is difficult. Not the strongest quality to have, and that definitely is a concern. The kid has to know his limits and has to be willing to put in the work, especially at such a young age. I don't know how you would go about curing this habit, but it's something to think about.

The Clyde Factor: Where to begin! First off, the Lucas' nickname is "Bebe". Add in those accent marks, and Clyde's trademark "neophyte" gets taken to a whole new level. Then factor in his last name: Nogueira. No chance Clyde learns how to say that correctly. I don't even think I know the correct pronunciation. The possibilities for mispronunciations and alliterative concoctions are infinite. Clyde would turn into that proverbial kid in a candy store.

Cool Stuff: I couldn't really find a lot on this kid, but I did discover this about him. His last name contains all five vowels, like the word "sequoia". How awesome is that?

* Wow I like his hair-do. Cool beans, Lucas.
* He is incredibly tenacious around the rim, both on offense and on defense. That kind of enthusiasm and activity is what I like to see.
* He said it himself: he can bring defense and rebounding. Nothing wrong with that.
* I think when he turned sideways, he disappeared for a second!
* He already has a great sense of timing on his blocks and going after rebounds, but the question is will he be able to do it against players his size and players who are much stronger than he is.
* He showed some early stages of an offensive repertoire, with little jump-hooks and a decent shooting form from the charity stripe.

Final Thoughts: I like Bebe, but he is nowhere near ready. I have the constitution to wait on a prospect, especially one that could have as great an impact on the defensive end as this guy, but Pringles and the rest of the Knicks' brass doesn't want to wait for a kid like this. The other thought that has already been floated around is to draft this kid with the intentions of including him in a package for someone like Chris Paul or Dwight Howard. That also works, I guess, but I don't like to think in those terms. Either way, this kid definitely has NBA ability, and he will probably still be lurking when the Knicks draft. I don't know if he is right, just because the Knicks desperately need players that can contribute right away. I wouldn't be opposed to purchasing another pick with the intentions to snatch the kid up though. What do you guys think?

NYKBocker wrote:Has all the potential in the world but the lazy stigma has me worried.

Same here. I'm actually on the pro-Mike side of the fence, but that is the kind of thing to get you glued to the bench.

I do like the sound of the long, lanky defender/rebounder/shotblocker "Bebe" though. Hope we bring him in for a work out early.

No chance with Mike here and us being in win now mode do we draft a kid who has this much "potential" and pass on someone who has less potential but can contribute now. I really think we will draft someone who can come in and play now (some). Expect an older player or perhaps a younger guy who can play now who slides to us for whatever reason.

BigSm00th wrote:LOL we just had anthony randolph. we all know how that worked out. "years away" from contributing = dog house

Exactly.

Marcus Camby grew up playing point guard in Hartford and attended a major college program. His timing on defense was perfected by the time he was a rookie. He had one of the ugliest jumpers this side of Jamal Wilkes but it occasionally went in. But his hops were magnificent. Just ask Dikembe Mutombo.

Noguiera is 7 feet tall and skinny.

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

BigSm00th wrote:LOL we just had anthony randolph. we all know how that worked out. "years away" from contributing = dog house

Exactly.

Don't a lot of playoff teams do just the same? Young guys who are mid rounders who are not either fully developed physically or who entered draft early in terms of development sit a lot unless on a lottery team.

Development of players take on a lot of different paths. So play immediately, some don't play until they are ready.

Panos, BigSm00th, did you think AR deserved playing time after his disastrous showing early in the year? What did you think of reports from beat staff that he didn't practice very hard? Is that not an indicator to you about maturity level of player?

Martin,
a) I think we gave him away, sold him cheap.
b) I believe that perhaps with a young kid like that with the amount of potential he had, you have to get creative, and make it work. Maybe the organization should have had a dedicated coach glued to that kid and brought him along. It would have been worth the investment, or at least we would know for sure what we had.

Now, regardless of whether or not not I think he deserved playing time, nothing makes me think that this Brazilian kid has any attributes that cast him in better light than Anthony Randolph, who at least has had some solid games in the *N*B*A*.
This kid is 18 y/o and playing in a bush league. Why should I believe he'll fit in here?

I wanted to wait in the Melo deal.... so you too?

b) how do you know that wasn't happening already?

And BTW, this are guys who are getting paid > $1M per and you just prescribed a babysitter. Tells you a lot about what the mentality of the player is.

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

BigSm00th wrote:LOL we just had anthony randolph. we all know how that worked out. "years away" from contributing = dog house

Exactly.

Don't a lot of playoff teams do just the same? Young guys who are mid rounders who are not either fully developed physically or who entered draft early in terms of development sit a lot unless on a lottery team.

Development of players take on a lot of different paths. So play immediately, some don't play until they are ready.

Panos, BigSm00th, did you think AR deserved playing time after his disastrous showing early in the year? What did you think of reports from beat staff that he didn't practice very hard? Is that not an indicator to you about maturity level of player?

Martin,
a) I think we gave him away, sold him cheap.
b) I believe that perhaps with a young kid like that with the amount of potential he had, you have to get creative, and make it work. Maybe the organization should have had a dedicated coach glued to that kid and brought him along. It would have been worth the investment, or at least we would know for sure what we had.

Now, regardless of whether or not not I think he deserved playing time, nothing makes me think that this Brazilian kid has any attributes that cast him in better light than Anthony Randolph, who at least has had some solid games in the *N*B*A*.
This kid is 18 y/o and playing in a bush league. Why should I believe he'll fit in here?

I wanted to wait in the Melo deal.... so you too?

b) how do you know that wasn't happening already?

And BTW, this are guys who are getting paid > $1M per and you just prescribed a babysitter. Tells you a lot about what the mentality of the player is.

CrushAlot wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

martin wrote:

Panos wrote:

BigSm00th wrote:LOL we just had anthony randolph. we all know how that worked out. "years away" from contributing = dog house

Exactly.

Don't a lot of playoff teams do just the same? Young guys who are mid rounders who are not either fully developed physically or who entered draft early in terms of development sit a lot unless on a lottery team.

Development of players take on a lot of different paths. So play immediately, some don't play until they are ready.

Panos, BigSm00th, did you think AR deserved playing time after his disastrous showing early in the year? What did you think of reports from beat staff that he didn't practice very hard? Is that not an indicator to you about maturity level of player?

Martin,
a) I think we gave him away, sold him cheap.
b) I believe that perhaps with a young kid like that with the amount of potential he had, you have to get creative, and make it work. Maybe the organization should have had a dedicated coach glued to that kid and brought him along. It would have been worth the investment, or at least we would know for sure what we had.

Now, regardless of whether or not not I think he deserved playing time, nothing makes me think that this Brazilian kid has any attributes that cast him in better light than Anthony Randolph, who at least has had some solid games in the *N*B*A*.
This kid is 18 y/o and playing in a bush league. Why should I believe he'll fit in here?

I wanted to wait in the Melo deal.... so you too?

b) how do you know that wasn't happening already?

And BTW, this are guys who are getting paid > $1M per and you just prescribed a babysitter. Tells you a lot about what the mentality of the player is.

I guess fans don't know whether a coach was dedicated to working with Randolph but I think it would have been reported. There was some coverage of how Dan D'Antoni worked a lot with Moz and how Moz was his pet project. D'Antoni also never appeared to have any patience for Randolph and instead seemed to be quick to yell at him and on several occasions where the bench was cleared brought him off last. I think Randolph knew where his place was with D'Antoni and I think the best thing happened for him. It is too bad that he didn't get the chance in NY. He put up some great numbers before he got here and after he left. I think age, maturity, returning from injury, past performance and potential needed to be given a bit more consideration in his situation. It appeared that he was treated like a bad apple vet who couldn't help the team and not the 21 year old 7 footer that the gm thought was the best player in the 08 draft when the Knicks picked.

Papabear Says

D'Antoni is selfish !! What was done to Randolph was unforgiving. Let Mike D continue to play games with our young talent and his no defense game plan. Just watch Chicago!! They play defense. Mike D must go.He is not the coach for our future.