Noah Vonleh was among the free agents who did not stick with the New York Knicks, but he looked back on his one season in the Big Apple fondly.
The New York Knicks had a silent offseason in 2018, but they found Noah Vonleh on a partially guaranteed contract along the way. His previous seasons did not live up to the hype as a former lottery pick, which led to bouncing between teams and the need to take a smaller deal to play at Madison Square Garden.
Opportunities came about for Vonleh with the Knicks, as he started a career-high 57 games and 25.3 minutes per contest.
The Indiana product’s contract was only for one year, though, and with New York wanting full cap space for 2019 NBA free agency, he was not re-signed. Instead, the Minnesota Timberwolves gave him a one-year, $2 million contract.
After Vonleh’s introduction to Minnesota, he looked back on his short time with New York; praising what they did for his game, per Timberwolves.com:
"“I put the work in,” Vonleh said. “When I get in the game, I don’t see why I should be shy looking for my shot, so I looked for it a lot last year compared to other places where I didn’t really have the opportunity to showcase some of those things. Being in New York, they kind of let me spread my wings and grow as a player.”"
Vonleh, indeed, grew as a player with the Knicks, as head coach David Fizdale let provided an expanded role just weeks into the 2018-19 season. That led to starting and the occasional double-double stat line.
The work was done across the board, though, as Vonleh worked the boards, blocked shots and expanded his range to become a consistent three-point shooter. His final averages were 8.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists, which were all career-highs. 47 percent shooting and 33.6 percent from behind the arc were among his best marks, as well.
Fizdale, because of this, called Vonleh New York’s “most complete player” at one point.
David Fizdale said Noah Vonleh might be the #Knicks' "most complete player." "He’s starting to make his threes, he brings the ball up for us, he guards 1 through 5, he blocks shots at the rim, runs the floor." Vonleh's had double-doubles in the last two games.
— Chris Iseman (@ChrisIseman) November 23, 2018
That may have offered an indictment on the Knicks roster, which was absent of winning NBA talent, but he played like their best player at one point.
Now in the midwest, Vonleh has the chance to play behind Karl-Anthony Towns and push Gorgui Dieng and others for frontcourt playing time. The opportunities will not be as prevalent, unless Minnesota craters to the bottom of the NBA, but a new location could help the 23 year old take another step in his development.
Meanwhile, the Knicks filled their frontcourt depth with Marcus Morris, Taj Gibson, Julius Randle and Bobby Portis. They upgraded this group over what was in place, but Vonleh’s presence may still be missed.