The Knicks will sign 28-year-old free agent big man Norvel Pelle to a 10-day deal, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The signing will give the Knicks much needed depth at the center position after Mitchell Robinson broke the fifth metatarsal in his right foot in last Sunday’s win against the Bucks.
It’s difficult to expect a large impact, because Pelle has only played in four NBA games this season for both the Sacramento Kings and Brooklyn Nets.
He averaged 2.4 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.3 assists in 24 games last season for the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Knicks took a chance at the trade deadline by not making any moves for a big man after Robinson appeared fully recovered from a broken right hand. But, sure enough, the Knicks’ steal of a 2018 second-round pick finds himself down again with another broken bone, this time in his foot.
Noel has done an impressive job of holding down the defensive anchor role since Robinson’s injury, and Gibson has been surprisingly strong. Expect Pelle to quickly work his way into 5-10 minutes a game for the time being, possibly as soon as Saturday night.
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