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Paulao Prestes profile
Drafted #45 in the 2010 NBA Draft by the Timberwolves
Height: 6'10" (208 cm)
Weight: 265 lbs (120 kg)
Position: C
Hometown: Monte Aprazivel, Brazil
Current Team: Mogi das Cruzes
Win - Loss: 6 - 23

Articles

Situational Statistics: This Year’s Center Crop

Matt Williams
Matt Williams
Jun 16, 2010, 02:26 am
Paulao Prestes ranks as the second most efficient scorer in post up situations at 1.034 PPP. He turned the ball over on just 8.5% of his back to the basket possessions, but only yielded a free throw on 8.5% as well (lowest). A wide-bodied post who does a nice job working the pick and roll, Prestes’ 61.2% shooting as a finisher is impressive when you consider the quality of opponents he faced in the ACB.

Finding a Niche for Paulao Prestes

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Jun 02, 2010, 02:45 am
Largely slipping below the radar of our draft coverage, there is little doubt after reviewing his game footage from this season that Paulao Prestes has much more to offer as an NBA prospect than we’ve given him credit for.



Prestes played his first season of basketball in the ACB this season, but he is already seeing major minutes. He has emerged as one of the most productive centers in Spain, in a league widely considered the best domestic competition in the world outside of the NBA.

His per-40 minute numbers are excellent. He’s averaging just under 15 points and 12 rebounds (which ranks him as the most prolific rebounder in the league at age 22) and converting 57% of his field goal attempts. By all accounts, Prestes’ productivity is phenomenal considering his lack of experience and the level of competition he’s playing at.

With that said, Prestes is not someone you would describe as being a particularly talented player. There’s really nothing attractive about his style of play. He’s not exceptionally clever or lively, and much of his utility isn’t appreciated by the casual observer.

“Useful” would probably be the best way to describe him.

He does have one thing going for him though: his tremendous physical profile. Standing a legit 6-10, with a massive frame and a wingspan that could very well be in the 7-3 range, Prestes could be mistaken for a long-lost Brazilian relative of DeMarcus Cousins.

Another area that Prestes has an advantage in is his unique skill set. He does two things exceptionally well: rebound and score with his back to the basket, both of which are among the most rare and coveted skills in basketball.

As mentioned, Prestes is the No. 1 per-minute rebounder (second per-game) in the ACB. He’s most effective crashing the offensive glass, where his wide frame and terrific strength allow him to move opponents around in the paint and achieve excellent position for loose balls. His huge wingspan and extremely soft hands take care of the rest, to the tune of nearly five offensive rebounds per-40 minutes pace adjusted.

Prestes has also improved his ability to score with his back to the basket; he ranks as one of the most efficient players in the ACB in post-up situations, according to Synergy Sports Technology, having converted an excellent 56% of his attempts. Prestes doesn’t have an exceptionally wide arsenal of moves or much of a finesse game, but he can establish himself deep position in the paint at will.

Usually receiving the ball a few feet from the basket, Prestes can continue to dig farther into the post with his outstanding base and improved footwork. This allows him to turn to either shoulder and flip the ball into the basket with a reasonably soft touch. He’s not afraid of contact and looks pretty comfortable in the low post. He does not appear to have any misgivings about the type of player he is.

You can count the amount of players in this draft who can score in this fashion on one hand. And the fact that he’s doing it against grown men (rather than against immature college teenagers) in a physical and athletic league such as the ACB is something that simply cannot be dismissed.

Prestes is also a solid presence on the pick-and-roll. He sets big, wide screens and presents himself as an excellent target in the paint after rolling to the basket with his huge hands outstretched.

Far from a finished product, Prestes still has plenty of room for improvement. He is not a cinch to fit into the hyper-athletic, and often undersized, style of today’s NBA game. He’s a below-average athlete, for example, who has problems finishing above the rim, and he doesn’t have a great understanding of how to draw fouls.

He also doesn’t show any type of perimeter shooting ability at this point, converting just one jumper all season according to Synergy Sports Technology. He does convert a solid 66% of his free throws, though, leaving room for optimism in this regard.



Defensively, Prestes is capable of putting a body on pretty much any traditional back-to-the-basket center an NBA team will throw at him, which makes him a rare and coveted commodity. His terrific wingspan and exceptional strength more than compensate for the inch or so he lacks in prototypical height and on top of that he’s very physical.

His lack of experience guarding high-level European big men gets exposed at times on isolation plays in the mid-post, as Prestes’ fundamentals and effort level leave something to be desired. There will certainly be a learning curve for him over the next few years as he continues to improve in this area--whether it’s playing high level basketball in Europe or in the NBA.

On the perimeter, Prestes is fairly limited. He has slow feet and looks lethargic at times hedging screens and closing out on shooters. This will make him a potential target for opposing NBA coaches. Watching him get caught on a switch against the likes of Monta Ellis or Aaron Brooks won’t be a pretty sight. For that reason, he will likely be more of a situational player: very effective against certain teams and matchups, but not capable of playing more than a few minutes at a time against small-ball-loving coaches like Mike D’Antoni and Alvin Gentry.

Prestes is also not quite as prolific a rebounder on the defensive end as he is offensively. He does a solid job in and around his area, but he’s not going to go the extra mile to pursue every loose ball he’s capable of snagging. He’s also not what you would call a leaper by any stretch of the imagination.

Despite his flaws, there is still room in the league for a player of Prestes’ nature--as Brendan Haywood, Jamaal Magloire and Erik Dampier can tell you. So why isn’t there more buzz around his name?

For one, NBA talent evaluators who know and like him are surely in no rush to tell the world how good he is.

Second, he’s not what you would call a prototypical NBA athlete, given his plodding style of play and the workmanlike fashion in which he gets his numbers. He’s not Ricky Rubio--no one who sees him on first glance will be jumping up and down in excitement about his NBA upside.

Third, Prestes suffered an untimely ankle injury in early April that ended his season. This is precisely the period in which NBA teams (particularly executives and high-level decision makers) do their heaviest scouting of the European landscape--right as the NCAA season comes to a close. There’s a good chance he hasn’t been seen by a single NBA general manager (the person ultimately responsible for deciding who his teams drafts) all season long, although we have no way of actually verifying this.

Adding insult to injury is the fact that Prestes has received zero exposure this season at the Euroleague or EuroCup level, the competitions that are most heavily scouted by NBA teams. He plays for CB Murcia, a team that competes strictly in the Spanish league and is ranked last in the ACB, which also limits his exposure.

Fourth, Prestes has not had the benefit of playing for his country’s national team, one of the main places that a young international prospect makes his name in NBA circles. Having the misfortunate of being born a few years after Brazilian centers like Anderson Varejao, Nene and Tiago Splitter, Prestes’ services were simply not needed.

He did make a major impact at the U-19 World Championships in 2007 in Novi Sad, Serbia, though, averaging 23 points and 15 rebounds on 59% shooting in nine games, and leading his team all the way to the semifinals. Unfortunately that was three years ago.

Finally, while Prestes has had his rights held by Spanish powerhouse Unicaja Malaga since being brought over from South America in 2006, the team was unable to find a spot for him on their ACB roster for four years. That is because Prestes is Brazilian, putting him in the restrictive category of players without a European Union passport. The Spanish league is the most stringent in Europe in regard to their rules about import players. In order to use Prestes, Malaga would have had to have him occupy one of two valuable roster spots normally reserved for Americans.

Since he was never going to beat out the likes of Marcus Haislip and Daniel Santiago for playing time (at least not at age 20 or 21), Prestes played in just three of Malaga’s ACB games in the past four seasons. Until this season, he was toiling away in the Spanish second and third divisions, biding his time while continuing to draw a paycheck from the team holding his rights. He put up gaudy numbers while he was there (17 points and 9 rebounds in 07-08, and 15 points and 9 rebounds in 08-09), but those were easy to dismiss considering the level of competition he was facing.

On top of that, Prestes simply doesn’t seem to be promoted as heavily to NBA teams the way other prospects are.

NBA GMs need to have a certain comfort level with the players they are considering in the draft. They want to conduct a physical with the player, review his medical history, see his game footage, meet him face to face for an interview, watch him in the combine, conduct a psychological analysis and do a host of other things--especially working a player out in their home facility, in front of their coaching staff. At this stage, it’s questionable whether NBA teams will be able to do that with Prestes (especially because of his untimely injury), which will surely hurt his draft stock.

Regardless of the unknowns, NBA teams would be making a mistake not giving Prestes serious consideration in the second round of the draft. Players with his physical attributes and skill set are extremely difficult to come by, particularly outside of the first round. NBA GMs pay backup centers with marginal skills and athleticism tens of millions of dollars to play the role he’s capable of playing. He could end up being a huge steal in terms of the value he provides relative to his salary.

Even if he doesn’t come over right away, he’s a guy whose draft rights a team should want to have for the future.

Roundup: Tsintsadze at his Best

Luis Fernández
Luis Fernández
Jan 23, 2008, 07:27 pm
It looks like the LEB Plata (Spanish third division), the league where Paulao Prestes regularly plays, was too weak for the Brazilian center. This past weekend he had 21 points, 14 rebounds and 4 blocks to lead Auxarquia (a team linked with his rights holders--Unicaja) over Ourense. He actually averages 17.1 points and 9.9 rebounds throughout the season. So pretty much dominating the minors, Prestes has lately been given the chance to enjoy some playing time in the Euroleague with Unicaja, taking advantage to deliver a few productive performances. This past week, he had 9 points and 5 rebounds in only 13 minutes of action. The guy is a stat stuffer, as he already showed in the past U-19 World Championships.

Where does his productivity come from? It mostly revolves around his strength, and his knowledge and willingness to use it. Prestes is a very strong player, with decent size (listed 6-10 barefoot, it looks more like his size with shoes) and a great wingspan. He’s also a physical guy, especially on the offensive end, strong on his knees, and able to easily hold position down low. He’s not very athletic, but he’s quite coordinated, showing nice mobility and running the court decently.

The Brazilian is a center all the way on both ends of the court. When it comes to scoring, he feels more comfortable the closer he gets to the basket. If he steps out to the perimeter, it will be to receive and pass the ball or to set a pick. He always continues his screens by rolling towards the basket. He does a good job moving off the ball and looks active trying to establish position on the low block. Once having received the ball there, he likes to work with his left shoulder trying to release the ball with his right hand, ultimately becoming pretty predictable. He’s pretty effective scoring around the basket, but doesn’t really enjoy a traditional hook shot. It’s more like a very short one-handed shot that he takes almost completely facing the basket, and often using the glass. If he’s not close enough to the basket, he will likely pass the ball back to the perimeter or go for a turnaround jumper with mixed results, particularly inconsistent if he tries any kind of fade-away move. Pretty solid from the charity stripe, Paulao shows fluid mechanics that likely translate in a decent-to-nice mid-range jumper, but he’s not very prolific in this department just yet.

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Prestes has been able to regularly deliver his offensive stuff in the LEB Plata, where there’s limited size, while squads like Le Mans or Armani Jeans Milano in the Euroleague (against whom he has been productive) don’t precisely stand out for having big centers or great inside power. It remains to be seen how he fares against bigger opponents, if he will be able to release his shots over his rivals relying on his wingspan as he does now.

Defense is another area where he draws mixed feelings. On the positive side, his strength allows him to battle in the paint against any player, also showing nice positioning and attitude. However, he’s not particularly quick moving laterally, and struggles when he’s forced to step out on the perimeter, while he’s not much of an intimidator. A skilled or big match-up will be able to score over him, as he’s not that big for a center, and barely gets off his feet from standstill positions.

To summarize, we don’t see great NBA potential in him. Besides working as much as possible on conditioning, he needs to gain versatility on the offensive end, working with his left hand in the low post, developing more effective shots against bigger players, establishing a solid mid-range jumper, and trying to make up for his defensive shortcomings with more physical defense. Anyway, he looks like a very solid player in the making for the European scene.

U-19 World Championship Review: Big Men

Luis Fernández
Luis Fernández
Aug 29, 2007, 01:36 am
Overcoming the loss of Vitor Faverani, Paulao Prestes emerged in this tournament as one of the most dominant inside players. A strong and physical big man, at this level Prestes is a dangerous weapon that his intensity and character on court takes care of promoting. Actually, he even took care of yelling his teammates whenever he was not happy about something they did.

Paulao is a very inside guy, who does most of the damage in the surroundings of the basket. He easily gains position down low and asks for the ball to play in the post. Not the most skilled guy there, still he shows effective moves where the good use of his strong body stands out. Prestes loves using contact to gain advantages against his weaker rivals. He does not enjoy a great soft touch around the basket, but can settle for right-handed hooks, short turnaround jumpers or just overpower his rivals on his way to a layup. He was the foundation of the Brazilian game as his sole presence balanced their inside-outside game, and provided more opportunities for his teammates. Actually, he did a pretty nice job finding the open man on the perimeter from the low post, even on the weak side.

Defensively, he is pretty physical down low, although he suffers against more mobile defenders. He is not particularly athletic, and his lateral quickness is just average. On the other hand, he is pretty effective gaining position for the rebound, and he showed a certain nose to grab it, gaining massive production as a result. Anyway, his potential seems limited by the fact that, at 6-10, with his athleticism and his center-oriented skills, he is an undersized guy.

U-19 World Championship: It’s Serbia!

Luis Fernández
Luis Fernández
Jul 26, 2007, 05:51 pm
The championship’s top scorer, with 23 points per game, and rebounder averaging 14.7 captures (the only player in double digits in this department!) while leading Brazil into the semifinals, Paulao Prestes was definitely a monster in the paint and the centerpiece of his team’s success, much more than just a stat filler.

His battle with Andrew Ogilvy in the quarterfinals was a definite highlight in the championship. The best centers face to face. Ogilvy might be taller than the 6-10 Brazilian, but Paulao is a stronger player, more physical, and he took advantage of it.

[c]Paulao strong on the paint[/c]

Ogilvy suffered on defense to contest the physical attacks coming from Prestes. The Brazilian player is not a finesse player in the low post; his repertoire of moves is limited, but he uses his strong body pretty well to get the job done, and the Aussie is not the most physical defender around. Paulao also won the battle in the rebounding area, easily gaining the best position thanks to his massive body. On the other hand, Ogilvy abused him by putting the ball on the floor to beat Paulao off the dribble using his superior quickness. Prestes is pretty slow in terms of lateral mobility, which combined with his skill repertoire, leaves his options pretty narrow positional-wise: he’s a center all the way, not greatly athletic and a bit undersized at 6-10.

But it was still enough to result in domination in many stretches in this tournament.

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