It's not been the best situation for Lucas Nogueira this season as he has apparently been at least somewhat unhappy with Estudiantes in the Spanish ACB. Spanish site Encestando.es reports that Nogueira is eyeing his exit from his Spanish club for either the Atlanta Hawks or another European team next season.
If you have been following Nogueira on Twitter, then you might have noticed that he has been counting down the days until the end of Estudiantes' season.
Bom dia mundo , obrigado Jesus por mais uma oportunidade de poder desfrutar da vida e tentar novamente fazer as escolhas certas. 2dias
— Lucas Riva (@Lucasriva_bebe) May 24, 2014
Translated this says:
Good morning world, thank you Jesus for one more chance to enjoy life and try again, make the right choices. two more days
The countdown has been going on for sometime.
After drafting Nogueira last season, the Hawks elected to not sign him and have him return to Spain for another year of development. That was interrupted when he left Estudiantes for the United States to seek a second medical opinion on his knees. The condition was eventually diagnosed as severe tendinitis and he later returned to action after about a two month layoff. Nogueira has appeared in 17 games in the Spanish ACB and is averaging 6.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 16 minutes per game.
According to Encestando's report, the NBA is Nogueira's first choice. Not a surprise as he voiced his preference to remain in the States following summer league last summer. The Hawks chose to go with Gustavo Ayon and Pero Antic instead last season. Ayon is unlikely to return which could open a spot for Nogueira this time around.