2019 FA Target; Noah Vonleh

Ozymandias

Ozymandias

All-Star
As of right now his stats are excellent for a backup C/PF. 45% from 3 on almost 2 attempts per, grabs tons of rebounds per minute. blocks shots, always plays hard/competes. Long arms. Very strong. 23 years old fits right into our timeline. Excellent lockerroom guy. He can run, and actually handle it a bit.

After betting on himself last summer, he's due a big raise this summer, but probably wont get starter $$$. Also he's shooting 75% from the FT stripe this season.

This situation kinda seems to me like Al Farouq Aminu before Portland signed him, a value deal could payoff in spades for the Kings.

He fits next to all 4 of the bigs, WCS, Marvin, Giles and Skal.
 
I've always liked Vonleh and really liked him coming out of school. Wanted the Kings to draft him. Thought he had a real gift as a rebounder and nose for the ball, great athleticism/size, played hard and had upside as a rim protector with his length and athleticism. It's just taken him so long to develop any sort of offensive game/consistency and to stop fouling himself out of games.

Unless we trade WCS though, there's just no room for him. Would also need to see that 3-ball stay consistent for the whole year before I believe he's added that shot to his repertoire.
 
There's a report out there that the 76ers have signifigant interest in trading for Vonleh, and might be willing to give up a future first..... The bid is gonna run up on him for sure this summer.
 
He's certainly upped his game this year in almost every category. Went from a energy guy who could kind of rebounding but not really much else and transformed himself into what looks to be a legitimate stretch 4. His 3pt% has gone up to 40% with 2 attempts per game and his FT% has also jumped up to 75%. Could be a legitimate improvement in shooting and not just a flash in the pan type season.
 
ESP47 said:
He's certainly upped his game this year in almost every category. Went from a energy guy who could kind of rebounding but not really much else and transformed himself into what looks to be a legitimate stretch 4. His 3pt% has gone up to 40% with 2 attempts per game and his FT% has also jumped up to 75%. Could be a legitimate improvement in shooting and not just a flash in the pan type season.
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Vonleh is more of a C than a stretch 4 at this point, which is really where the Kings would get the most value from him but he'd need to steal some minutes from Bjelly and obviously all of Koufos' minutes.. He fits next to all the young guys we have though and isn't redundant .. He isn't the passer our bigs are but he can shoot it from 3.... got some sneaky skill to his game and he moves well laterally down in a defensive stance and stuff like that, plays strong defense with his chest.

It's been a while since I made this thread and he's still shooting 41% from 3....
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The thing with Vonleh and the Kings is he's young but he's very strong compared to our guys currently... he has a very good body type for basketball and rebounding he's actually kinda got short legs but a long torso and long arms so he maintains a low center of gravity. and so thats really why it's a match, plus a whole lot of other stuff. IIRC he jumped like 38" high at the NBA combine, he's a ball of muscle. very good nose for offensive boards. He's just a tough player to move, he'd have saved the day in that Portland meltdown..

perfect attitude for this team too, he's got an work ethic thats actually Buddy levels of insanity... he's made several stops now in his young career, but everywhere he goes his teammates rave about him.

At least 250 lbs, but he can most definitely run.

He would also have the longest wingspan on the team despite being 6'9", his arms are 7'4½", I think Willie's measured at 7'3".

A 2 year deal for like $22MM could work, that'd make him unrestricted the summer harry's restricted... which is basically like passing him the useless $$$ being paid to Z-Bo this year...... Lets say they re-sign Willie for $19MM... I think that only puts the Kings on the books for about $80MM next season, they still have plenty of spending room to go after a wing. The Kings would have such a glut of bigs but on the salaries it's manageable.
 
I would rather have Kanter. Instant starter at C, move Willie to PF and up Bogdan to SF, keep Hield and Fox where they are. Our bench would be thin though. Not much scoring.
 
He is a good example on why you dont want to overpay on average centers like Willy. You can get Noah Vonleh type players much cheaper or guys slightly below his tier for near minimum contract and have very similar production either way.

Personally I'd like signing Vonleh if the price is right. Assuming Bagley is obviously the starting center next year, Vonleh would fit well as the third big next to Marvin and Bjelica.
 
ESP47 said:
He's certainly upped his game this year in almost every category. Went from a energy guy who could kind of rebounding but not really much else and transformed himself into what looks to be a legitimate stretch 4. His 3pt% has gone up to 40% with 2 attempts per game and his FT% has also jumped up to 75%. Could be a legitimate improvement in shooting and not just a flash in the pan type season.
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Vonleh is a great reason to be price sensitive this off-season with WCS. If WCS wants 3/45mil or 4/60 type of price-tag and if Vonleh can be had for something around what Bjelica got, then we have to take that significant value

He's a really nice stylistic fit with the Kings as a 3rd big or a place-holder starter if Giles isn't quite ready next season. He fits the timeline nicely as he'll just be turning 24 at the start of next season, 2 years younger than WCS. He's super athletic and would thrive in our pace, always been a great rebounder at the NBA level, infectious energy/hustle level, impact defensive player and has grown into a productive supporting role as an offensive player (57% TS, 11% AST rate, 40% 3pt). He's an impact player on both ends for a dumpster fire NYK team; would love to see how his skill-set would translate to a team with real talent on it.

I don't think he'll be particularly high on many teams radar at the start too, which is a bonus for us considering how "well" we attract FA's. The PF list in this FA is actually pretty deep:

Porzingis (RFA)
Harris
Mirotic
Randle (PO)
Millsap (TO)
Thaddeus Young
Taj Gibson
Markieff Morris
Aminu
 
Well I think Vonleh is more of a PF than he is a center. He's 6'9" and around 240. Yeah, he has some center in him, and could be a small ball center, but I think he has more value as a stretch four. His three point shooting shouldn't be that big a surprise since he shot close to 50% from the three at Indiana U, where he was totally misused, and mostly ignored by our own Yogi Ferrell. Sorry Yogi, but your a different player now. I liked him coming out of Indiana, and I still like him, but not sure we have a great need for him unless some other moves are planned.

I'm not sure the Kings hate Willie as much as some of you do, and when last I checked, they're the one's that make the decisions. Where Willie is concerned, I think it will come down to how much he wants, or is willing to accept. Willie may not be Anthony Davis, but he does a lot of things well, and deserves to get paid for those things. But not overpaid.
 
Another guy who is similar to Noah is JaMychal Green who is a UFA a good rebounder/can now space the floor and brings plenty of nasty in him plus he knows Joerger from his days in Memphis

Maxi Kleber also is a elite defender according to stats (2nd in the NBA according a defensive rating metric) and the eye test backs it up the guy can play both PF/C I would love him on the team.

A front line of Bagley/Giles/Kleber/Green or Vonleh would be athletically nasty as it gets (all 4 viable lob targets) with Kleber there to deal with the big boys and Noah/Green as a floor spacer.
 
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Gary said:
I would rather have Kanter. Instant starter at C, move Willie to PF and up Bogdan to SF, keep Hield and Fox where they are. Our bench would be thin though. Not much scoring.
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Kanter is so much worse at defense than Willie, you have no idea what pain you're asking for.


Fact - When Utah switched from Kanter to Gobert that first season Rudy took the starting job, they went from one of the worst defenses in the league to the best on a PPG allowed basis.
 
bajaden said:
Well I think Vonleh is more of a PF than he is a center. He's 6'9" and around 240. Yeah, he has some center in him, and could be a small ball center, but I think he has more value as a stretch four. His three point shooting shouldn't be that big a surprise since he shot close to 50% from the three at Indiana U, where he was totally misused, and mostly ignored by our own Yogi Ferrell. Sorry Yogi, but your a different player now. I liked him coming out of Indiana, and I still like him, but not sure we have a great need for him unless some other moves are planned.

I'm not sure the Kings hate Willie as much as some of you do, and when last I checked, they're the one's that make the decisions. Where Willie is concerned, I think it will come down to how much he wants, or is willing to accept. Willie may not be Anthony Davis, but he does a lot of things well, and deserves to get paid for those things. But not overpaid.
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Well, Vonleh was one of the youngest players in college basketball, he's one of those reclassify up guys and he ended up getting drafted 9th which all things considered, pretty good. At Indiana they just had him grabbing boards and he was successful at that, did so at an extremely high rate.

Willie is definitely in the plans. This thread was made like 6 weeks ago, since then Vonleh's value has increased drastically. He's probably bordering out of our price range and also minutes/role range. U never know though, the Kings have a lot of space. and 2 more seasons of Harry and 3 of Marvin on Rookie deals (and 1 for Skal).

Using the 2nd rd picks on some big guys and developing them long term is probably the more efficient route.

Koufos and Randolph expire though, that remains, so there are imminent changes on the depth chart. That $$$ is going to Willie though.
 
bajaden said:
Well I think Vonleh is more of a PF than he is a center. He's 6'9" and around 240. Yeah, he has some center in him, and could be a small ball center, but I think he has more value as a stretch four. His three point shooting shouldn't be that big a surprise since he shot close to 50% from the three at Indiana U, where he was totally misused, and mostly ignored by our own Yogi Ferrell. Sorry Yogi, but your a different player now. I liked him coming out of Indiana, and I still like him, but not sure we have a great need for him unless some other moves are planned.

I'm not sure the Kings hate Willie as much as some of you do, and when last I checked, they're the one's that make the decisions. Where Willie is concerned, I think it will come down to how much he wants, or is willing to accept. Willie may not be Anthony Davis, but he does a lot of things well, and deserves to get paid for those things. But not overpaid.
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What can't he do at center? From what Iittle I've seen of him this season he can be a shot blocking presence.
 
Kingster said:
What can't he do at center? From what Iittle I've seen of him this season he can be a shot blocking presence.
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Just type in "Vonleh Giannis Defense" and you'll see his shot blocking ability. Those plays are pretty impressive against a guy who is seen as unstoppable when going to the rim.
 
twslam07 said:
Just type in "Vonleh Giannis Defense" and you'll see his shot blocking ability. Those plays are pretty impressive against a guy who is seen as unstoppable when going to the rim.
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Yep. That's what I saw, so I wonder why he couldn't play center?
 
Kingster said:
Yep. That's what I saw, so I wonder why he couldn't play center?
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Well he certainly rebounds well. He’s been between 11.6-12.8 rebounds per 36 min for the last two years. He’d be a top 15 rebounder with that pace. He is also very strong for his size.

The only question I have is how does he fare against someone like Adams? I haven’t watched him enough to see how he holds up against the stronger Cs.
 
Vonleh tore it up at C tonight (albeit against Brooklyn, who gets roasted by every C)

32 mins, 22 points, 13 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks. Looked athletic and was a big difference maker on both ends.
 
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