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Continuing with their trend of signing low-risk redemption projects this summer, the Knicks have signed forward Noah Vonleh, according to Ian Begley:
The Knicks have reached an agreement with free agent big man Noah Vonleh, per ESPN sources.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) July 24, 2018
Not much to go off of as far as contract details so far, but nonetheless, Vonleh is a Knick!
The Knicks could have signed Vonleh using all or part of the $3 million-plus bi-annual exception, or to a veteran’s minimum contract. This blog writer is hoping that it’s a veteran’s minimum deal, so the “Who should the Knicks spend the bi-annual exception on?” piece that I was working on doesn’t have to get scrapped. (I have no way to prove it, but Vonleh was on my list.)
Signing Vonleh puts the Knicks back to 16 players on the NBA roster, meaning that between now and the end of training camp, someone needs to go:
With Noah Vonleh on board, the Knicks have 16 players on NBA contracts and two players on 2-way contracts. They will need to waive or trade a player on an NBA contract by opening night to satisfy league roster requirements.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) July 24, 2018
Vonleh was traded from Portland to Chicago last season as a luxury tax cost-cutting move by the Blazers, and he put together his best stretch of play as a pro with Chicago. Vonleh managed 6.9 points and 6.9 rebounds (nice) per game with the Bulls, although he shot an ineffective 41 percent from the field. Still, though, Vonleh was once the ninth overall pick in the draft, drawing comparisons to Chris Bosh in the pre-draft process. This makes the Knicks the official Kings of Reclamation Projects for the 2018-19 season:
Wrote the other day about how Knicks are Second Drafting their way through this rebuild. Today, they reached an agreement w/ Noah Vonleh, which @IanBegley reported first. Now have NBA-high 9 lottery picks on the roster and 6 drafted since 2014 — 2nd most. https://t.co/0ur69oqzZl
— Mike Vorkunov (@MikeVorkunov) July 24, 2018
We’ll be sure to update with contract details as they become available! In the meantime, what are your thoughts on Vonleh joining the Knicks? Let us know down in the comments.
EDIT 6:20 p.m.:
It looks like Vonleh’s deal is for one year and partially guaranteed:
Noah Vonleh agreed to a one-year deal with the Knicks that’s partially guaranteed, per ESPN sources.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) July 24, 2018
So my bi-annual exception article is still a go!
The partial guarantee most likely means that the Knicks will have different points where money becomes guaranteed to Vonleh throughout the season, similar to their now-cut deal with Troy Williams. If I had to guess, I’d assume that Perry and Mills made the different guarantees at training camp and midseason, around the trading deadline. But I’m sure those details will come out soon.