Pelle's contract will be for the rest of this season plus next year, with 2020-21 becoming guaranteed if he's still on the roster on July 6th, per source. https://t.co/oUR55VOGpD — Derek Bodner (@DerekBodnerNBA) February 7, 2020

The Sixers are waiving reserve big Jonah Bolden in order to make room for Norvel Pelle. It’s a bit bittersweet for fans who loved some of the flashes Bolden has shown. His ability to run the floor in transition and stretch the floor, knocking down triples has been something the team has often lacked when attempting to fill the minutes Joel Embiid sits. According to Derek Bodner Senior Writer with The Athletic Philadelphia is doing this to convert Pelle’s two-way contract to an NBA contract for this year and next.

When I think of Bolden the first game I remember was the game a year ago when both Embiid and Boban Marjanović were injured and he stepped in and helped the team beat the Thunder with plays like this. His floor spacing and athleticism showed the Sixers they could still use a player with Bolden’s theoretical skills:

But ultimately, it was Bolden’s lack of awareness defensively that I believe led to this decision today. At times the Australian big, who has appeared in 48 games for the Sixers, with averages of 4.4 points and 3.5 rebounds, appeared lost. He would too frequently neglect his rim protection duties to contest a mid range jumper or switch on the less threatening player leaving an open lob dunk.

Norvel Pelle on the other hand has really impressed in his limited minutes defensively. Amazingly, in just 156 minutes this season he has recorded 21 blocks, a pretty sinister rate. Pelle has a knack for timing his jumps and can be a pogo stick getting up again and again to contest. He’s a bit undersized for today’s centers at 6’10, 216 lbs. But Jarrett Allen on the Nets has still found a home, offering semi comparable skills as a lob threat and strong weak side help defender. We’ll see if Coach Brett Brown wants to use Pelle during the stretch run of this season.