Philadelphia 76ers: Norvel Pelle lucked into a perfect situation

What do the Philadelphia 76ers‘ decision to waive Norvel Pelle and the ending of a perfectly crafted screenplay have in common? They’re both surprising yet inevitable.

Despite showing out exceptionally well as the Sixers’ one-man block party coming off the bench – earning a partially guaranteed NBA contract in the process – when Brett Brown was fired, and Elton Brand‘s power was significantly reduced by the arrival of Daryl Morey, it felt like only a matter of time before Pelle too would be on his way out of town.

If Marial Shayok was deemed no longer a fit for the team’s re-tooling process, how on earth would a 27-year-old with a non-existent offensive game and 24 NBA games to his name fair much better?

Factor in the additions of Dwight Howard, Tony Bradley, and Vincent Poirier, and in a way, Morey was right to move off of Pelle before his contract became guaranteed, as he would likely fall fifth on a depth chart headlined by Joel Embiid, but hey, don’t feel too bad for the former Delaware Blue Coats first-round pick, as he just fell into a near-perfect opportunity to further his NBA career as a member of the league’s new supervillain Brooklyn Nets.

From Philadelphia 76ers bench warmer to Brooklyn Nets board cleaner?

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Now, as you may or may not have heard, the Brooklyn Nets just traded a solid chunk of their roster and the vast majority of their future draft capital for a 6-foot-5 shooting guard of some notoriety by the name of James Harden (ever heard of him?).

While Harden’s addition has unquestionably made Brooklyn a must-watch team any time they take the court – even against Collin Sexton and the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers – his addition came at the expense of both depth and defensive fortitude, as the Nets had to surrender Taurean Prince, Caris LeVert, and Jarrett Allen to get the deal done.

Can the Nets score 135 points in any given game? Most definitely, when Harden, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Durant are combining for 90 points, that is always on the table, but when the very same unit surrenders 145 in a double-overtime loss to a Cavs team without their second and third best players – Kevin Love and Darius Garland – does that really matter? If the Brooklyn Nets are going to bully their way through the regular season and even hope to try to slow down the speeding freight train that is Embiid, they’ll need to find someone – anyone – to soak up some center minutes that isn’t 6-foot-8 Jeff Green or the ghost of DeAndre Jordan.

Enter Pelle, a center-sized center who can play center minutes at center for Steve Nash’s Nets squad.

Center.

Regardless of his age, his limited offensive abilities, and his general capped out-ness, Pelle is still the kind of player who can give you a Per 36 stat line of 8.8 points, 11.2 rebounds, and an astounding 4.8 blocks.

Will Pelle ever hit those numbers with regularity? For the Nets’ sake, they’d better hope not, but they could give you 10 minutes split up fairly evenly through the first three-quarters of a game and alleviate the amount of time Green is banging his head against an opposing center in the paint at the five spot.

Pelle’s presence also gives the Nets an option to stagger Jordan’s minutes a bit more too, as the 32-year-old center has looked cooked, averaging 28 points – eight above his season average – over the past four games.

If Pelle just plays 12 minutes a night, he’ll instantly make the Nets a more balanced NBA team, but if he can play more and prove himself a poor man’s Nerlens Noel-type rim runner who can bang in the paint and switch on defense, well, the 27-year-old Antigua and Barbuda native may find himself the starting center on a championship favorite a few months removed from being waived off his first NBA contract.

“And at starting center… Norvel Pelle!” You know, that has a nice ring to it.

Next. Did Tilman Fertitta purposely stick it to Daryl Morey?. dark

As a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers – especially one scorned by Tilman Fertitta’s unwillingness to trade the team James Harden – you never want to see the Brooklyn Nets make a move that makes them better. Then again, isn’t it always nice to see a former player earn a potentially expansive opportunity, especially when he was let go by no fault of his own? While we won’t be seeing the #OneManBlockParty rim running in a red, white, and blue jersey again any time soon, it’s pretty cool to see a longtime Sixers product make good after a decade of bouncing around the world looking for a chance to prove his basketball worth – especially since he’ll get absolutely dominated by Joel Embiid whenever the two face off.