Brooklyn officially signed free agent Norvel Pelle Thursday afternoon. The free-agent center is expected to join the team on Sunday in Washington, D.C. on a non-guaranteed deal, according to a league source.
The Nets have been looking for interior help since trading away center Jarrett Allen in the megadeal for James Harden. While they’ve been linked with a number of veteran Cleveland big men like Andre Drummond and JaVale McGee, those are only targets. Pelle is a Net, albeit a low-risk, high-upside flier who brings a 7–foot-3 1/2 wingspan, athleticism and rim protection.
“I think every coach in the league would be willing or be open to roster-improving,” coach Steve Nash said without ever mentioning Pelle or any other target by name.
“But the reality is you have to work with what you have, and we have a lot of really good options. So our profile isn’t defensive, so to speak. That is a weakness for us. We’ve got to try find a way to overcome that.”
To say the Nets haven’t had a defensive profile is putting it mildly. They’ll go into Friday’s game at Oklahoma City having won five of seven since Harden’s arrival, but that’s been in spite of their sieve-like defense, not because of it.
Up through Allen’s last game with the Nets, their Defensive Rating was a solid 11th in the NBA. But since making that deal, they’ve been 27th.
DeAndre Jordan has been the starting center and they’ve lacked any true size behind him. Jeff Green has done yeoman’s work but is a 6-foot-8, 235-pound undersized stretch four, while Reggie Perry is a struggling second-round pick. Nic Claxton is hurt and the 6-foot-10, 231-pound Pelle now joins Jordan as the only healthy Nets over 6-foot-10.
Pelle only has a single season of NBA experience, joining Philadelphia on a two-way contract in 2019-20 and playing his way into a standard deal. He averaged 2.4 points, three rebounds and 1.3 blocks in just 9.7 minutes in two dozen games. His 4.8 blocks/48 minutes would’ve led the league if he’d qualified.
That rim protection not only got him on the roster, but could make him a viable candidate for the rotation, joining the team Sunday vs. the Wizards.
Pelle’s long, winding journey to Brooklyn would make the Odyssey look like a day trip. He was born in Antigua and Barbuda, went to high school in California – where he was the No. 1 center in the country according to Rivals.com – and has played for the Lebanese national team.
The 27-year-old Pelle played overseas in Italy, Lebanon and Taiwan, and has made 83 appearances in the G League before getting a taste of the NBA with the Sixers. He appeared in one playoff game last season for Philadelphia; if he can help fill some backup center minutes and protect the paint for the Nets, he could potentially carve out a role for another postseason contender in Brooklyn.
“We need to improve, and we need to look inward to improve,” Nash said. “If roster composition changes for the better defensively, that’s great.”
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