Philadelphia 76ers: Norvel Pelle better backup center than Jonah Bolden

The Philadelphia 76ers have two young big men, but one is clearly more suited for the role of backup center than the other.

Over the course of this past season and the 2019 NBA Summer League, it’s become clear that the Philadelphia 76ers have two nice young developing big man in Jonah Bolden and Norvel Pelle. Both have bright futures with the franchise, but one is clearly a better option as a reserve center coming off the bench.

Despite playing a big role off the bench for the Sixers this past season, Bolden doesn’t appear capable of handling the backup center position for the franchise at the current time. The 6-foot-10 big man struggled with foul problems whenever he played the position. This past season he averaged 5.6 fouls per 36 minutes. The only other players who played for the Sixers last year and had a higher averaged per 36 minutes was Amir Johnson and Justin Patton.

Bolden has the tools to be a versatile defender, he’s long and has quick feet to keep up with perimeter players. Last season with the 76ers averaged 4.7 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.9 blocks. He can also stretch the floor, shooting 35.4 percent from the 3-point line.

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Bolden’s more of a raw prospect at the age of 23, he’s still learning on the defensive end, so asking him anchor a defense might be too much to ask. He’s much more suited for the power forward position for the time being.

Pelle only recently signed a two-way contract with the club this offseason. Prior to that, he played this past season with Philly’s G-League affiliate the Delaware Blue Coats. In 36 games with the Blue Coats, the 6-foot-11 center averaged 11.1 points, 8.6 rebounds and 3.0 blocks. Compared to Bolden’s G-League stats, in which he averaged 15.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 0.8 blocks, Pelle is the better rim protector between the two.

It’s clear that Pelle is an elite rim protect as the was named to the G-League’s All-Defense team and averaged the third most blocks per game in the G-League. At 26-years-old, Pelle is closer to being a finished product in terms of development. He’s a rim running center that’s a high level rim protect and his performance in this past summer league solidified the type of player he has developed into. Center is Pelle’s primary position, whereas Bolden is more naturally a power forward.

This isn’t to say that Bolden isn’t and probably won’t a better player than Pelle is now. Bolden has the tools and skills to be a more versatile player on both sides of the ball for the long term. He can help at the power forward spot at the moment. Yet right now, he’s not ready for the responsibility of the backup center role. Pelle on the other hand is ready for those duties right away.

It’s doubtful that either young big man will see time as the Philadelphia 76ers primary backup center right away. The Sixers have other big men ahead of them on the center depth chart like Joel Embiid, Al Horford and Kyle O’Quinn. However, if head coach Brett Brown has to choose to play one of the young big men at the center spot, Pelle should be the preferred option.