New Orleans Pelicans: 2 Under-the Radar Free Agents to Watch at Disney

New Orleans Pelicans: Under-the-radar free agent center

Noah Vonleh: Center, Denver Nuggets

When Noah Vonleh entered the NBA as an uber athletic 6-foot-10 power forward/center, it looked as though he would make an immediate splash in the NBA.

That never happened and Vonleh has moved around a lot ever since, playing for eight different teams in his six seasons in the NBA.

His best season came with the Knicks, where Vonleh averaged 8.4 points and 7.8 rebounds in 25.3 minutes per game while shooting 33.6% from 3-point range on two attempts per game.

His best season was not a whole lot different than what Favors is currently providing, the difference is that Vonleh is doing it for $2 million a year compared to Favors $17.2 million.

Vonleh is currently on the Nuggets and hasn’t seen much action since moving to Denver. With Jokic potentially out with coronavirus or at least limited, Vonleh may get extended run in Orlando, so the Pels should keep an eye on him.

He could potentially fill the Jahlil Okafor role and though he is not nearly the offensive player Okafor is, Vonleh is a much better defender, which is what the Pelicans need out of a backup center.

He’s also flashed the ability to shoot, especially for his size, and could eventually become a stretch-four type who could compete for minutes with Nicolo Melli.

Melli can shoot, but does little else, so it would be good to have a defensive counterpart to share minutes with and occasionally run with in the second unit.

Whether Vonleh can ever put together his immense talent is anyone’s guess, but at the very least he will grab rebounds, protect the rim and could develop into the type of low-cost role player the Pelicans need off their bench.