Philadelphia 76ers: Norvel Pelle can’t help but shine

After a string of fantastic showing in both the Summer League and the preseason, Norvel Pelle deserves a spot on the Philadelphia 76ers’ 15 man roster.

I’ve said it before, here, and I’ll say it again: The Philadelphia 76ers have the best center tandem in the NBA.

After spending the summer getting leaner and meaner, Joel Embiid already looks to be in regular-season form, and should once again find himself an All-Star Game starter next spring – a now yearly tradition that should go on well into the 2020s.

And behind ‘The Process’? Well, the team has five-time All-Star Al Horford, another player who has looked great in a variety of roles for the team so far this fall.

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In full-strength games, not to mention the playoffs, it’s very possible Brett Brown could go with a two-man rotation at center, but what about games where one or both of their All-Star bigs are unable to take the court? Who then becomes the team’s top option at center?

If said question had been broached in May, the answer would have likely been either Amir Johnson, Greg Monroe, or Jonah Bolden, but what a difference a few months can make.

As of October, both Johnson and Monroe are out of the league, and Bolden, while still a member of the 76ers, appears to be much more effective when deployed at his natural power forward position.

No, despite signing Horford, Philly tripled down on their frontcourt by signing Kyle O’Quinn to a veteran minimum free-agent deal, Florida State product Christ Koumadje to an exhibit 10 contract as a UDFA, and Delaware Blue Coat‘s stand out Norvel Pelle to a two-way deal.

Base on contract alone, one would have to assume O’Quinn would get the first nod coming off the bench, followed by Pelle (if active), and Koumadje bringing up the rear if he can somehow make it onto the roster, but after a summer filled with surprising center developments, that may no longer be the case.

It all started at Vegas Summer League, where Pelle lit it up as the team’s starting center. Despite lacking the traditional trappings of a ‘stretch five’ center in 2019, specifically an ability to shoot the ball from range, Pelle feasted in the pain where his size and hop-ability created fits for opposing scores.

Now sure, I know you’re thinking ‘While logging close to a double-double on dunks and blocks alone is impressive, it’s just  Summer League; most of those players won’t even make NBA teams’ to which I reply ‘fair’ but apparently, nobody told Pelle his performances didn’t count, as he’s ridden that hot streak right into the preseason.

Facing off against the Detroit Pistons – in a game without starting point guard Ben Simmons – Pelle logged 12 minutes of mostly garbage time action, but made the most of his opportunity by stuffing out the stats sheet with 13 points, four rebounds, and five(!) blocks; those are Embiid-style numbers.

It was great: The bench cheered, his team rallied, and fans in the 215 went wild for yet another exciting end to a preseason game – even if it was only preseason game.

While O’Quinn may have more experience, a bit more size, and the position flexibility to play either the four or the five, he just doesn’t bring that same level of excitement to the court.

In a weird way, Pelle actually reminds me a bit of Lou Williams, in that the 6-foot-10 LA-product always seems to inject a sense of urgency and swagger when inserted off the bench. While teams typically want their spark plug sixth man to be a guard, as highlighted by Landry Shamet‘s role last season, this year’s Sixers squad clearly want to play a different way, as evidenced by the decision to re-upped 2-19 acquisition Mike Scott, one of the team’s many interchangeable 6-foot-8 forwards to serve as their top bench scorer.

Between Scott and similarly resigned scorer Shake Milton, Brown can afford to dedicate a handful of minutes when applicable to a center without an outside shot, especially one who can impact games in a variety of ways.

Really, the only argument that makes sense for why Pelle should remain on a two-way deal and initially bypass the 76ers’ 15 man active roster is playing time – namely that he can play more minutes and continue to improve in Delaware.

In a way, that thought process is true, as Pelle would certainly start for the Blue Coats for every game he is active, but Pelle isn’t your standard young, raw player in desperate need for playing time.

No, while an NBA debut has eluded Pelle to this point, the 26-year-old has been playing professionally across the world since 2013, logging minutes for the Delaware 87ers, the
Dacin Tigers, Homenetmen, Varese, the  Auxilium Torino, and finally the Delaware Blue Coats.

While Pelle’s heavily used passport doesn’t necessarily mean he’s tapped out as a prospect, is at 6-foot-11 with a quick step and great hops, the NBA rookie should be able to develop into a three-position defender with the right coaching, it does mean that he will be among the most tenured players on a G League squad in 2019.

No, if the Philadelphia 76ers are serious about winning now, which they clearly are, the best course of action may be to prioritize keeping a youngster like Norvel Pelle over a veteran option like Kyle O’Quinn in the final trim down to 15 roster spots. In doing so, the team would not only have retained an exciting third-string center who can enter all 82 regular-season games and bring energy coming off the bench, but it would also free up a second two-way contract to sign exhibit 10 player Chris Koumadje to a two-way deal as well. After identifying Pelle as a player to watch as a G-League GM, Elton Brand shouldn’t hesitate to offer an extended role to the 26-year-old rookie sooner than later.