The Sacramento Kings are signing center Nerlens Noel to a one-year minimum deal worth $3.1 million, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Free agent C Nerlens Noel has agreed on a one-year, $3.1M deal with the Sacramento Kings, his agent @georgelangberg of GSL Sports Group tells ESPN. Noel gives the Kings a defensive presence in the frontline rotation.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 18, 2023
After using cap space to extend Domantas Sabonis, re-sign Harrison Barnes, and re-sign Trey Lyles, the Kings were left with only minimum contracts remaining to fill out their roster. Noel is an excellent value for one of those spots.
Noel never lived up to his draft position, and had a really down season last year playing limited games for the Pistons and Nets, but he’s still just 29 years old and is a proven defender, rebounder, and shot-blocker, skills the Kings have desperately needed in the front court. I’m a big fan of this move, especially on a low-cost, one-year deal.
Sacramento has bolstered their roster depth in the front court, retaining all their key rotation players from last season, while replacing Richaun Holmes and Chimezie Metu with Sasha Vezenkov and Nerlens Noel.
The Kings were previously reported as being interested in Nerlens Noel in free agency two years ago as a possible Richaun Holmes replacement, if Holmes had left in free agency. Now, in an indirect way, Noel replaces Holmes as a backup center for the Kings.
Looks like the Neemias Queta experiment in Sacramento is over. I know he still has an option to return on a two-way contract, just not seeing the benefit of him having another season in the G-league
Queta just hasn’t shown much, especially not consistency. Another year in the G league would probably do him good, but I’m not seeing anything more than a deep bench big at this point.
Meh, not a fan of the signing. Noel doesn’t provide the Kings anything that Len does already give. Guess who’s been the better defender/rim protector the last few seasons? It’s Len, by a healthy margin.
Also, what does Noel provide at $3M that Queta doesn’t provide at a cheaper price? I’d say this signing likely means Queta is gone.
IMO, Noel is washed and his productivity has fallen off a cliff. He’s played a grand total of 42 games that last 2 seasons on 3 different teams. He was cut by the Pistons and lasted one 10-day contract with Nets. No playoff teams picked him up last season to help with defense.
If the Kings were looking for a 3rd string center, I feel they could have done better. Biyambo, Hernangomez, Myers Leonard or even Tim’s man crush in Dedmon would be better options.
I’m meh on the signing as well. It’s fine given it’s a minimum contract, but probably better options out there. Noel is still only 29 so maybe he can turn back the clock and provide great defense.
Biyombo would have been the best option. Sadly, we should have given Noel a try when he was waived last year– could have made a difference vs the Warriors.. His rim running and shot blocking would be just a bit better than Len, but Len would be better for stronger players. I’d take Biyombo with the last roster spot, allowing you to trade or waive 1 player later.
All W. No L.
Yeah, this is guilt-free calories situation. Noel doesn’t need to score other than on putbacks and fast breaks, and his per 36 numbers indicate that he can still defend well. He’s a better athlete than Len, although probably not as good of a passer. NN will be put in a position where he can do the things he does well, without necessarily being asked to add a bunch of new facets.
The lane will be a more dangerous place for opponents this season.
Exactly
Defense is his specialty. What a concept!
Noel and Davion on the court at the same time will be interesting. Two defensive dogs (assuming Noel still has it).
We have officially entered the warm-body phase of free agency.
Perhaps Queta’s injury is more severe than the Kings are letting on.
could be.
“stress reaction” in a metatarsal can be lingering.
Hope he gets a third stint in Stockton.
Crazy to me he’s already been in the league 10 years. I’ll never forget people calling him the next Bill Russell lol
As the 3rd(?) center though I like the signing. Him and Len aren’t too far apart skills wise but Noel definitely adds a bit of athleticism. I can envision a front court of Noel and Lyles/Sasha being effective on the 2nd unit to make up for what the other lacks. If Domas can develop more as a shooter they can run some minutes together also here and there. Decent low risk signing
Best of luck to Neemias if he doesn’t stick around in stockton. Hopefully a young team lacking front court depth can give him some real nba run and development a bit more than we could.
I donāto see how signing Nerlens Noel can be anything but a positive. A quicker defensive center option behind Domas, Lyles and Len.
its solid A F
3 or 4 years ago, I’d agree. Now, it appears to be more of a “meh, let’s cross our fingers and hope he’s not completely washed”.
As a minimum guy it’s fine though I think it’s possible he’s just washed at this point. At least theoretically he provides another rim protection option.
I remain sort of perplexed by the Queta love from some folks. I think Jerry said it best on the most recent TKH podcast when he talked about Queta just not having an adequate reaction time for an NBA player. He’s got the size but he really is a very poor rebounder. His feel just isn’t quite there and I don’t expect he’ll be an NBA rotation player at any point. Was hoping he could turn into something but I think that ship has sailed.
I think the idea of Noel from several years ago “theoretically” makes sense, but as you said, he’s washed and just isn’t that player anymore. The last time he played meaningful minutes and contributed was in 2021. Color me skeptical on folks who point out numbers from back then but ignore the last 24 months of his career. The last team he was on was in March and no other teams headed into the playoffs thought he could be of service to them headed into the postseason. To me this is on par to kicking the tires of Hassan Whiteside from a few years ago. I’m not even sure he beats out Len in the rotation.
Honest question, would you prefer Dwight Howard? They’re basically the same player (Dwight and NN), but even though Dwight is much older, I think he’s a better player at this point.
Just quickly looking at Dwight’s last numbers, which was the 21-22 season, he put up better defensive metrics than Noel has, but I’d prefer neither. The truth is, Len might be better than both of them. It’s not the I dislike them, I just find them redundant with Len and arguably worse. Neither fit into Coach Brown’s offense and would be a major liability if Sabonis were to miss time.
I guess I prefer more of a system type player than a one trick pony. How much difference would a prime Noel make if he’s only getting 8-10 minutes a night anyway? Hypothetically, if you are getting killed at the rim do you pull Sabonis in favor of Noel? That seems like a no-win situation. I’d prefer someone who can somewhat do what Sabonis does in case Sabonis has to miss time. Maybe that guy isn’t out there?
I do see the redundancy between Noel and Len. I was still hoping for a stretch 4. Wood is probably the only one left and would be too costly.
The saving grace between Len, NN and really the rest of the contracts on this roster is that they’re all tradeable. If NN and Len aren’t cutting it defensively, an upgrade can be made at the deadline.
The other thing is, neither Len or NN are playable with Sabonis due to none of them being able to stretch the floor. So it’s still going to be difficult to cover up for Sabonis’ lack of defense and athleticism.
I agree on Wood. One thing that it would have allowed is for both Sabonis and Wood to play on the floor together at times. Anyone who can stretch the floor would benefit with playing with Sabonis. Dedmon could even be a poor man’s option.
I just don’t see a situation where Sabonis and Noel would share the court at the same time.
Thatās why I was so hyped on Giles. Seemed worth the gamble to me.
You hadnāt been on a playoff team for 5 consecutive years. DeAaron M F Fox. Could Noel be a flop? Maybe. Could he be a difference maker in certain situations? Maybe.
itās a gamble Iām fully on board with as the 13th, 14th man in the rotation with the possibility that he could become a 10 or 11th option.
Would I have preferred Giles? Yes.
is that irrational? Maybe.
I was hoping for a Giles reunion…..But will welcome Noel. Hopefully a fresh start on an exciting team will give him the boost he needs. Defend that rim!
I still feel good that Giles will get a two-way contract somewhere, even if it won’t be with Sac.
Amen to that! Harry Giles return would be so exciting, for everyone, that I begin to wonder if management isn’t averse on the notion he could be a distraction to the team.
My first thought when I hear Noel’s name is The Process.
Fun facts:
I believe that’s now 4 Kentucky Wildcats on the Kings (NN, Fox, Monk, Lyles). And they say Vivek isn’t still calling the shots.
Noel was selected at 6, one pick before the venerable Ben McLemore in the 2013 draft. Alex Len was selected at 5, one pick before Noel. Ten years later and Len and Noel will be fighting for backup big minutes, the universe is a funny thing.
I don’t see Noel putting up much of a fight.
Just went to go look at it and wow that draft was horrendous. Obviously Giannis is amazing but the guy with the next best career is… Gobert? Maybe McCollum? Adams? Oladipo was great but his knee was crabmeat by year 5.
Schroder has been a viable NBA player. Maybe Covington and Hardaway Jr. as well. Seth Curry and Mason Plumlee have carved out decent careers. But yeah, this class will not be writing a lot of HOF induction speeches.
1freak
Anthony Bennett going number one was a bad omen. Pretty atrocious draft.
In an alternate world Petrie was still GM at the time and maybe takes Giannis as it was rumored he scouted him or was high on him.
I can recall we Kings faithful so hopeful that Nerlans Noel would drop to Sac at 6 and the disappointment we had that he did not.
Looks like MM got his NN, hopefully not too many O Os.
My guess is that McNair checked with Brown and his staff and someone of them felt a connection enough to head nod on adding Noel.
Of that draft class, Alex Oriakhi at 57 and Ray McCallum at 36 also are Kings notables.
If Vivek called all of these shots, we owe him a pretty big apology.
It’ll also be his fault if the Kings are lower than the third seed at the end of the season. Or if this turns out to be a really hot summer. Or if Zoe Saldana refuses to go on a second date with me.
Ranadive is letting professionals make the decisions, and we’ve already seen it pay off. Reflexive responses like those are hacky as hell.
I am very happy Vivek has allowed McNair the power but I donāt trust the.little shit not going all Vivek again. He already installed his daughter in a hoops decision making position. (And his son?). Neither of whom, like Vivek, are remotely qualified.
I hope he continues to stay away from hoops decisions but I donāt think he believes he is right now.
I want Vivek to do a Dolan and just go play semi average music with his band.
If you think that the GM of the D-League team is making any actually important decisions, I have several bridges and a leprachaun to sell to you.
2nd date?! Do tell
My first reaction was, “Hell yeah!.” Then y’all bummed me out. I realized I haven’t seen him play in a couple years, so he probably won’t make the court, in Sac. either. The fact he couldn’t find time on the Pistons is definitely not good. I still want to believe he won’t be bad. He can’t possibly be worse than Bismack Biyombo, who I have seen lately, and wished I hadn’t. Also, I thought I had BB’s name wrong, so I almost copied it from another poster before going to NBA.com to get it correct. I had it right. If you can’t even spell his name right, is there really a chance he could be a difference maker? Just sayin’…
I think we can all appreciate the exquisitely light dusting of (presumably unintentional) racism at the end.
What’s to appreciate about racism?
Nothing.
He craves the attention.
Ty
Nice jiu jitsu! I was referring to how you managed to squeeze the racism in there, not the racism itself.
Which you are clearly disinclined to address. Not everyone is born Bill Stevens.
I’m not Bill Stevens either, but as for being “clearly disinclined to address” your concerns, if you would be inclined to state them in a clear, concise, and coherent manner, I’ll address them with as much thoughtful, and honest, self-examination as I am currently capable of.
You have asked for something way beyond his ability.
?
Care to make a point or simply cry?
It was a Pistons team that was trying to lose and giving copious minutes to its youngsters.
I don’t know if Noel will be a difference maker or not for the Kings (odds say not), but context matters a lot when looking at his past couple of seasons.
agreed
Thisš
Pistons had Duren, Wiseman, Stewart and Bagley at that position.
Exactly.
The Pistons had 13 centers to develop. Noel will get better opportunities on a playoff team. THIS playoff team.
I would’ve rather gone with Bol or Bamba, but we’ll see how it goes.
What about – Bolamba?
Can he play small forward?
All in on Bolamba!
Wasn’t that a Ritchie Valens song?
HOLY SHIT! š
Really wish the FO tried harder to pick up Bol Bol. Provides defense + provides an offense that Len doesn’t provide. Too much redundancy with Noel.
We’ll be unbeatable with No_L in the line-up.
If the answer to “who will backup Domas” is Len or Noel, then we have no answer; this position remains unfilled.
MM has had an okay off-season as we’ve gotten slightly better and slightly deeper, but he failed to fill the hole for the backup “big” center role.
Lyles will be the main backup 5 for the most part so it shouldn’t matter too much, but we needed someone with size and athleticism to match up with some of the bigger bigs and its disappointing that the best MM could do was Len and Noel (Noel from 4 yrs ago might’ve actually helped). I hope Noel gets rejuvenated by being on a competitive team.
š
Interior defense and rebounding!! š
Washed? Really? Ok.
Go Kings.
Iām getting some Keyon Clark vibes
I loved all the Keyon Clark vibes.
I still remain a huge Keon Clark fan, and I haven’t got a good explanation for why that is.
Proven NBA player over a G league player.
Finally.
Not really excited about NN. He used to guard the paint. Maybe…………….
Monte passed on some other centers- or they just preferred elsewhere- Omer Y., Bryant, Bol, etc.
I wonder if this has to do with sequencing of contracts, staying under the cap for the first time in years, in order to sign Sasha into the room exception instead of the over the cap options of Biannual and MLE?
Does this signing keep the Kings under the cap? does it allow the benefits and flexibility that an under the cap team enjoys or did the Kings just slip over and lose those benefits?
I thought that the Kings needed 5 things in the offseason: 1. rim protection, back up for DS, 2. length, defense and athleticism at the wing 3. stretch 4 4. larger back up, third PG. and 5. get off of Holmes contract.
Actually, they got one of these and were soft on the other 4. Can C. Jones fulfill #4? Does Duarte count as #2?
I think that they would have drafted Kris Murray if available and wanted to sign Torrey Craig.
Jones seems to be more turnover prone that is desirable for a PG.
There is no even average NBA center on the roster to backup Sabonis.
Duarte and Sasha unproven.
There are options at the trade deadline, particularly if the Kings are under the cap. And I still believe that some teams will want to dump some overloaded positions.
the back end of the lineup is expendable, but can NN be let go right away?
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