Sixers sign Norvel Pelle

The Sixers have signed Norvel Pelle, who played for the team’s Summer League squad. From the Sixers press release:

PHILADELPHIA – AUG. 3, 2018 – Philadelphia 76ers Head Coach Brett Brown announced today that the team has signed center Norvel Pelle. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Pelle most recently represented the 76ers at MGM Resorts Summer League 2018, where he averaged 7.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and a team-leading 1.2 blocks in 13.8 minutes per game across five contests.

The 6-foot-11 center spent the 2017-18 season playing for Auxilium Pallacanestro Torino and Pallacanestro Varese of Italy’s Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). Over the course of 29 games (11 starts), he averaged 6.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 14.6 minutes per game combined between the two teams.

Pelle also spent the 2016-17 campaign with Varese after beginning his international player career with Homenetmen Beirut B.C. of the Lebanese Basketball League Division A in 2015-16.

A native of Antigua and Barbuda, Pelle began his professional career with the 76ers G League affiliate, the Delaware Blue Coats, which chose him with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Development League draft. In two seasons (2013-15) with Delaware he saw action in 39 games (six starts), posting averages of 5.5 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 12.8 minutes per contest.

All told, Pelle has played internationally in Italy, Lebanon and Taiwan, including time with the Lebanese national team.

The whole “per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed” part of this makes it tough to judge what the Sixers actually expect of Pelle. I don’t really get this move (he didn’t show me a whole lot in Summer League), but I doubt there’s much to it in the way of guarantees.

Our Jake Hyman wrote a piece on Pelle just before Summer League, providing great insight into the type of player Pelle is. You can check it out here.