Last week at the Las Vegas summer league, a 19-year-old, seven-foot rim protector averaged 17.2 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. It was not Kristaps Porzingis, but Noah Vonleh, who has somehow become Portland’s summer afterthought in spite of his overwhelming potential.
After excelling in Vegas, all Vonleh has to do is try and fill LaMarcus Aldridge’s shoes as the Blazers— who acquired Vonleh and Gerald Henderson from Charlotte in exchange for Nicolas Batum on the night before June’s draft— begin to rebuild.
SheridanHoops spoke with Vonleh about his new home, his added weight and his on-court versatility.
According to an insider familiar with Charlotte’s front office, Vonleh’s rawness became a concern for the team in the early part of last season. When the Hornets drafted him a little over a year ago, they presumed he’d still have to mature into his body to live up to the hype of being the 9th overall pick in a loaded draft. By late in the regular season, however, Charlotte’s patience had turned into fear. The Hornets worried that Vonleh remained so far away from being an NBA-ready player that he would fail to crack the rotation again next season if they were to keep him.
After initially trying and failing to find a worthwhile trade return for big man Cody Zeller in the days leading up to the draft, the Hornets determined it was important to trade Vonleh while his value was still high. Charlotte believed it couldn’t afford to play Vonleh next season if it wanted to be competitive, but the team also couldn’t afford to let his trade value drop by stashing him on the bench for another year. With eyes set on Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky in the draft to become the stretch big of Charlotte’s future, the Hornets swiftly shipped Vonleh to Portland on June 24.
From a pure talent-for-talent standpoint, the trade made sense. Batum is a very capable two-way swing man who dealt with a slew of injuries last season, not to mention a messy divorce from his wife. Banking on at least somewhat of a bounce-back season from him is a safe bet for Charlotte.
Portland, meanwhile, looking to jump-start a rebuild, managed to add a 19-year-old lottery piece to its arsenal in exchange for a player who didn’t factor into their long-term plans. Adding the 27-year-old Henderson also gives the Blazers another trade asset to deal before next February’s trade deadline.
Based on contractual value, however, the trade made far less sense for Charlotte. Batum is entering the final year of his contract, meaning he will be an unrestricted free agent next July just as the salary cap expands. So if Batum has the bounce-back season Charlotte is hoping for, keeping him around past next season could cost between $15-20 million annually. The Hornets, mind you, will also have to make difficult decisions after next season with Al Jefferson (unrestricted free agent) and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (restricted free agent).
On the other side of the spectrum, the Blazers feel like clear winners. Portland is taking a gamble in assuming it can rediscover the same Vonleh who draft experts had penciled in as the likely choice by Orlando, who had the fourth overall pick. Of course, the Magic ended up selecting Aaron Gordon and caused Vonleh’s slide.
Had Vonleh had returned to Indiana for his sophomore year last season, it’s conceivable to think he could’ve been a top-five pick in this year’s draft. Vonleh limited Kaminsky, his eventual replacement, to just 21 total points in two head-to-head matchups. For these reasons, investing in Vonleh is a gamble that the Blazers feel comfortable with. Blazers executives liked Vonleh so much coming out of college that they scheduled a meeting with the former Hoosier just to express his admiration before the draft:
“They told me that they really liked me but they didn’t have any draft picks in the lottery so they couldn’t get me.” Vonleh told SheridanHoops in Las Vegas.
So while Vonleh was evidently a disappointment to Charlotte’s front office— who anticipated his perimeter shooting ability and interior rim protection would compliment Al Jefferson perfectly— it seems premature to give up on Vonleh as a prospect. In limited minutes last year, Vonleh showed evidence that he can develop into the exact perimeter shooter with an interior defensive presence Charlotte had been searching for.
Based on SportVU tracking, Vonleh’s rim protection in limited minutes was encouraging:
In addition to his rim protection, Vonleh also made five of his 13 three-point attempts (38.5%) last season, proving his range extended to the NBA three-point line (chart courtesy of NBAsavant.com):
Vonleh continued to demonstrate his perimeter touch at Summer League, where he shot 5-of-10 from deep, including a 3-for-3 performance in his final game.
Of course, the biggest takeaway with Vonleh from Summer League didn’t take much in-depth scouting at all. Simply put, he looks huge. Vonleh doesn’t just look huge in relation to the lanky physical project he was at Indiana. To be frank, Vonleh looks like he ate Brandon Bass this summer.
“I finished off the season at 240,” Vonleh said. “Right now I’m about 255, almost 260. I might try to slim down a little bit more, I like to be quick on my feet. I feel good though.”
Vonleh explained that he’s been bulking up on a creatine diet that has helped him add weight and gain energy for short bursts in the weight room. However, the effects of creatine on muscle gain are temporary, which means he should have little trouble cutting down to a lean-yet-muscular form by the start of the season.
Vonleh expects to play more minutes this season than last, and learned in Charlotte about the physical toll big men take on a nightly basis in the NBA. And while his weight gain suggests he’s preparing for minutes at the 5, whispers from executives around the league suggest that the Blazers are planning a role change for Vonleh from the C/PF spot he played in Charlotte to more of a dynamic PF/SF facilitator in Portland.
Vonleh played a role in high school with ball-handling responsibilities on the perimeter and looked more comfortable driving to the rim than this reporter expected. One Eastern Conference scout praised Vonleh for his ball handling and court vision in Las Vegas, adding that he looks a lot more confident than he did last year.
“I feel like I can get to the rim at any time,” Vonleh said. “I can either draw a foul or kick it to somebody and open up the floor to create action. I needed to get a lot stronger but playing at that weight I can move quicker and beat fours off the dribble.”
With four of Portland’s starters from last year playing elsewhere in 2015-16, Vonleh’s potential appears to be one of the strongest selling point for the Blazers as they prepare to rebuild. Vonleh averaged 17.2 points and 8.5 rebounds on 55.8 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent from three-point range in four Summer League games. He was named to the All-Summer League Second Team.
Now, it’s time for Vonleh to take his success in the desert and translate it to the Pacific Northwest.
“They said they know I’m a hard worker,” Vonleh said. “They said to just keep working.”
Jacob Eisenberg is a contributing columnist to SheridanHoops.com. He specializes with the CBA and Salary Cap. Follow him on Twitter and check out his website.
