The New York Knicks recently signed free agent big man Noah Vonleh. Here are five reasons for Knicks fans to love the latest addition.
The New York Knicks are in the talent acquisition phase of the rebuilding process. That essentially means that no player has earned their keep quite yet, and will instead be in a fierce competition to prove theirselves to head coach David Fizdale.
In the spirit of that competition, the Knicks have added yet another former top-10 draft pick to a roster that’s overrun by such players.
New York entered Tuesday, July 24 with seven former top-10 draft picks under contract. Those players are guards Trey Burke, Emmanuel Mudiay, and Frank Ntilikina; forwards Mario Hezonja, Kevin Knox, and Kristaps Porzingis; and center Enes Kanter.
New York added an eighth player to the list by signing power forward Noah Vonleh to a partially guaranteed one-year contract.
Noah Vonleh agreed to a one-year deal with the Knicks that’s partially guaranteed, per ESPN sources.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) July 24, 2018
There’s no guaranteeing that Vonleh will make the final cut, but he’s an intriguing talent who brings significant upside to New York.
Following a standout freshman season with the Indiana Hoosiers, Vonleh was selected at No. 9 overall in the 2014 NBA Draft. He carried the hype of being a 2013 McDonald’s All-American and the 2014 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
Unfortunately, Vonleh has been unable to secure consistent playing time at any of the three stops he’s made during his four NBA seasons.
Vonleh played his rookie season with the Charlotte Hornets, but was traded to the Portland Trail Blazers shortly thereafter. He played parts of three seasons for Portland, but was then traded to the Chicago Bulls in 2017-18.
Thankfully for the New York Knicks, there are clear reasons to believe that signing Noah Vonleh will prove to be a fruitful decision.