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Scola, a power forward for the Phoenix Suns and a teammate of Prigioni's on Argentina's national team, knew the Knicks were going to go after Prigioni again in the summer. And he was convinced that it would be a giant mistake if his friend didn't listen this time. "He's a great player, and he belonged over here," Scola said in a recent phone interview. "I tried to convince him that this is something he had to do, that he had done everything he could do in Europe. I did not give him well-balanced advice. I told him he had to come here." Prigioni turned 35 on May 17, about a week after the Knicks were eliminated by the Heat in the first round of the playoffs. Though he didn't think he needed the letters "NBA'' attached to his resume to be happy, he began to see that it was getting harder to challenge himself as he got older. "I decided that I wanted one more challenge in my life," Prigioni said. "Why go down at the end of your career? I thought what would be the biggest challenge for me. I wanted to see if I could help an NBA team." Newsday

New York Knicks, Pablo Prigioni 

Marc Berman: Media mob scene around Pablo Prigioni's locker tonight for first time. Nice to see. Had a little deja lin feel. Twitter @NYPost_Berman

New York Knicks, Pablo Prigioni 

Steve Popper: Early Rasheed quote of the day: I mentioned the Prigioni give and go he ran was old school. He said, "And two old M---F---ers running it." Twitter @StevePopper

New York Knicks, Rasheed Wallace, Pablo Prigioni 

Jared Zwerling: Prigioni said to me after Heat game he was nervous & still not in great shape. He said he's been reducing his milk intake to get more lean. Twitter @JaredZwerling

New York Knicks, Pablo Prigioni 

During many phone calls this summer, Scola, now a Phoenix Suns forward, gave positive feedback. He promised Prigioni he would enjoy the adventure. Prigioni, now a 35-year-old rookie with the Knicks, knows he is here in large part because of Scola. “I have a lot of respect for him both as a person and a player,” said Prigioni, who is the oldest N.B.A. rookie in the last 40 years, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. “He really wanted me to make the jump, and I appreciated that.” New York Times

New York Knicks, Phoenix Suns, Luis Scola, Pablo Prigioni 

Last seen on the world stage at the London Olympics in mid-August, an ailing Prigioni kicked over a time clock at the final buzzer after Argentina suffered an 81-77 defeat to Russia in the bronze-medal game. Prigioni did not speak to the media afterward. “It was so painful for us, I think we cried 20 minutes in the locker room,’’ Prigioni told The Post. “All the players, to lose like that ...’’ New York Post

New York Knicks, Injuries, Pablo Prigioni 

Was that someone criticizing Jeremy Lin at Knicks camp? While Knicks coach Mike Woodson has run from the Lin issue, center Tyson Chandler was blunt, saying Lin was too “inexperienced’’ and their point-guard trio of Raymond Felton-Jason Kidd-Pablo Prigioni is an upgrade over last season’s Lin-Baron Davis-Mike Bibby troika. “Baron was hurt and Jeremy was a young point guard who was just learning and figuring out an offense,” Chandler said. “It was nothing against them and it was definitely nothing against Baron. “Jeremy was a young point guard who was inexperienced, who brought a great light to the organization. But as far as being able to run the offense and putting players in the right position he just wasn’t there. We got some veteran point guards that are capable of doing that.” New York Post

Houston Rockets, New York Knicks, Jason Kidd, Raymond Felton, Tyson Chandler, Jeremy Lin, Baron Davis, Mike Bibby, Pablo Prigioni 

Entering his 12th season, Chandler said he's seen a plethora of floppers, and added there could be a lot of guys in today's game who'll get fined. “I love that. There’s going to be a lot of guys who’ll be in trouble in this league," said Chandler, then joking even some on his own team will be fined. "I don’t want to name names but mostly the guards and Europeans, so we’ll have to talk to [Argentinian import] Pablo [Prigioni] about that." Commissioner David Stern has long tried to clean up the act of flopping, which over the past 15-20 years has taken on the shape of international soccer, where a player acts like he was just clipped by a sniper after the slightest of touch. Newark Star-Ledger

New York Knicks, Tyson Chandler, David Stern, Referees, Pablo Prigioni 

Through the years, Prigioni has had about a dozen antique cars and mopeds. He also likes to collect old items for his house, including a "write machine" (an old typewriter), a barber seat from 1940, old refrigerators and ancient things for his bar. ESPN.com

New York Knicks, Pablo Prigioni 

Today, he owns two antique cars (a 1953 Chevrolet pickup and 1965 Ford Mustang convertible) and four mopeds (a 1954 Puma 2 Serie, 1957 Lambretta 125cc, 1966 Lambretta 150cc and 1981 Piaggio Vespa 200cc). He keeps them at his main residence in Alicante, Spain, where he played two of his 17 years of international basketball. "I drive every day when I'm in town, but much more when I'm on vacation and when I have free time," Prigioni told ESPNNewYork.com. "I enjoy driving a lot. I love it." ESPN.com

New York Knicks, Spain, Pablo Prigioni, Alicante 

Prigioni doesn't just purchase antique cars. He looks to restore them to their original style, without altering any parts. For only his 1953 Chevrolet pickup, he changed many things, including its engine (350 V8 horsepower), power steering, individual suspension, disc brakes front and rear, and five-speed manual transmission. "It's my favorite car, especially because my wife bought it for me for Christmas in 2006," he said. "I rebuilt it like new during the last five years." He had previously used a company in Alicante to customize his cars. But now, he goes under his own hood. "Because they took too much time to restore my cars, I decided to open my own shop to do it," he said. "I've been doing it for the last four years. I also do work on my cars out of my house." ESPN.com

New York Knicks, Pablo Prigioni 

Frank Isola: New Knicks point guard Pablo Prigioni on Carmelo detonating in the third quarter: "I hope he shoots like this during the whole season." Twitter

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, USA Basketball, Team USA, Argentina, Olympics, Pablo Prigioni 

The U.S. men’s basketball team faces Argentina Friday night in the Olympics semifinals at North Greenwich Arena and bad blood still festers from Saturday’s showdown during which Anthony was belted in the groin by Argentina backup point guard Facundo Campazzo. Prigioni, battling a kidney stone that has weakened him, rested during that game, but stuck up for his countryman after Anthony — and Tyson Chandler — called Campazzo’s actions “a cheap shot.’’ “I don’t know, this is part of the game,’’ Prigioni told The Post. New York Post

New York Knicks, USA Basketball, Argentina, Olympics, Pablo Prigioni, Facundo Campazzo 

Krzyzewski has made a big deal of saying Argentina is a different team with Prigioni. But Prigioni said he’s just “70 percent’’ after having missed two games in this Olympic tournament with his ailment. In the Argentines’ quarterfinal victory over Brazil, he shot just 2 of 8. “I hope ... to be a little more [healthy],’’ said Prigioni, who is on medication. “The worst of it is it takes all my energy.’’ This will be the third meeting between the teams in 16 days, with America winning an exhibition in Barcelona by six points before Saturday’s 29-point victory. “It’s more of a challenge [to beat them three times], but we have a game plan,’’ said LeBron James, who posted a triple double in the win over Australia. “We’ll learn from our mistakes.’’ Argentina is flush with veterans who likely are making their Olympic swan song. “It definitely changes their approach, they could be going into their last game together internationally,’’ Anthony said. “ Just think of if you were playing your last game, the type of energy you’d bring.’’ New York Post

New York Knicks, USA Basketball, Argentina, Olympics, Pablo Prigioni 

Lithuania shot 58.5 percent against the U.S., which looked complacent after its historic 83-point romp over Nigeria. Prigioni will face his future Knicks teammates Carmelo Anthony and center Tyson Chandler, who played just eight minutes against Lithuania and may be bothered by a sore finger. “I like Pablo a lot,’’ Anthony said. “I like him a lot — an older veteran guard who knows how to run the team, knows how to play the game and is very knowledgeable of the game out there on the basketball court. When we watch film of him and just watching him play over the years, he rarely turns the ball over. He just runs the team, just runs the offense, don’t try to do too much, shoot when he’s open and try to get everyone else involved.’’ New York Post

New York Knicks, Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, USA Basketball, Argentina, Olympics, Pablo Prigioni 

Bruno Altieri: Prigioni is feeling better and will give it a try tomorrow. Twitter

Argentina, Olympics, Pablo Prigioni 

Argentina is optimistic that Knicks point guard Pablo Prigioni, who missed Thursday's win over Tunisia with kidney stones, will be available for the remainder of the Olympics. "We've ruled out an infection and we confirmed he has little stones in his urinary tract," said Argentina team physician Dr. Diego Grippo. "He won't have to go through surgery as the stones will probably pass naturally. If that happens, he can play again (in the tournament)." Argentina plays the United States on Monday here in London. Sulia

New York Knicks, Injuries, Argentina, Olympics, Pablo Prigioni 

Jared Zwerling: New #Knicks PG Pablo Prigioni is out against Tunisia due to renal colic (a type of abdominal pain commonly caused by kidney stones). Twitter

New York Knicks, Injuries, Argentina, Olympics, Pablo Prigioni 

“I think we have at that position everything, Prigioni said Saturday in an interview at a remote high school in East London. “Raymond can score more. Jason and [I] can run the team. I feel we have many options at that position. Fans will be happy and enjoy our game.’ New York Post

New York Knicks, Raymond Felton, Pablo Prigioni 

“Jeremy is more a scorer. He likes to shoot more. I saw him play 10 games. I’m not this kind of player. I like the team to play good, pass the ball, find open shots. I like to play smart — if someone’s hot, pass the ball to him.’’ New York Post

New York Knicks, Jeremy Lin, Pablo Prigioni