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| via John Coke on Flickr |
Noah Vonleh - Indiana
6'10" (7'4" wingspan), 240 lbs, 08/24/1995
Noah Vonleh is the type of player that benefits greatly from the draft combine. He is tall, long, and strong. The fact that he shot 59% from 3 and is 6'10 with a 7'4" wingspan makes him a coveted prospect, and has propelled his rapid ascension into the early-mid lottery in many mock drafts.
The Lakers are looking to acquire talent. They have barely anyone under contract for next season. They will likely continue to hoard cap space and/or try to roll it over to the summer of 2015 by giving out 1-year contracts. They aren’t looking to draft a building block. They are looking to draft an asset that other teams would covet in order to give themselves flexibility down the line.
And let’s be clear, Vonleh is not a franchise player. I’ve heard the Chris Bosh comparison and am not on board with that. Just because he’s a big who could shoot three’s? One thing Vonleh does better than anyone in this draft is rebound. Does that sound like Bosh? He’ll be a double-digit rebound per game player as long as he gets the minutes. His shooting stroke looks great. He was extremely efficient in possessions where he took jump shots (1.56 Points per Possession). His range is one of the biggest selling points on Vonleh, but he only took 19 three’s at Indiana (he hit 11).
He’s billed as a guy with a lot of defensive potential mostly because he is strong and combined with his length was a very good post defender in college. In the NBA though, his lack of athleticism will expose him in a team defensive system. He’s not quick to cover, or recover, and can get up in the air. That hurts him on offense as well. He has touch, but he’ll struggle to get his shot off against size, and his assist/TO ratio is one of the worst in the draft. For someone with the second largest hands in NBA Draft Combine history, he mishandles a lot of passes.
That all being said. All rookies are projects. Vonleh (with minutes) could be in the top 10-15 in the league in rebounding this year, while simultaneously spacing the floor and defending the post. All rookies will struggle fitting into NBA defensive systems as first, and it’s unlikely he’ll be asked to be the focal point of an offense. That size combined with his shooting stroke will have teams interested and the Lakers will be fielding phone calls whether its draft day this year or in the future.
What I Think They Will Do:
I have no idea. Honestly, the Lakers draft the best available player. That may now be Embiid. Or it’s Vonleh. Or Exum. Or Smart. Or they miss out on all of those and talk themselves into McDermott (Who apparently won’t work out for them a second time. Wait. That doesn’t make sense. McDermott doesn’t want to work out for one of the most storied franchises in the NBA picking at 7? Does that mean he has a guarantee by a team above them? Say it ain’t so Ainge.)
Mitchell believes the Lakers sell high on Vonleh’s potential and make a move with Orlando on draft night. They send Vonleh to Orlando who will pair him with Vucevic for a front line that will grab EVERY rebound and rounds out a very intriguing young core of Exum, Oladipo, Vonleh, Vucevic and you can include the fringe guys like Tobias, Harkless, and Nicholson. That’s a lot of young talented players. They’d be years away, but if they hit on three of those guys they could be in great shape. The Lakers on the other hand would add Afflalo who they could play on the wing with Kobe and ease his defensive burden. They’d also still have the #12 pick to either take a chance with one of the foreign prospects or in Mitchell’s scenario select Adreian Payne who may already be what we hope Vonleh becomes.
Put a gun to my head, I guess I’ll pick Vonleh, but the front of the draft seems so unstable now. A week is just enough time for one of those teams to talk themselves into Vonleh’s ‘upside’.
Crazy Draft Day Trade:
Mitchell will talk more about his proposed Lakers-Orlando trade at the #12 spot. The Lakers don’t have a lot of assets so it’s obviously unlikely they will trade up, although they’d love to. This isn’t as enticing as Afflalo and # 12 but what if Denver wants to go get Vonleh? Maybe the Lakers would take Faried and the # 11 for Vonleh who might fit a bit better in Brian Shaw’s offense then Faried does. The Lakers have enough of an empty cupboard on the roster that they could basically take anyone at # 11.
Editor’s Note:
The majority of this was originally written before the Embiid news:
Now, with news of Joel Embiid’s foot injury, Vonleh’s agent will surely make the case he is the most enticing big man in this draft. He may not even last to this point for the Lakers. The Cavs have no idea what to do now. The Sixers either. And if Exum jumps, Orlando may end up being the most likely landing spot for Vonleh. Let’s just say the Embiid news has shaken things up.
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