Former first-round pick Noah Vonleh expected to join Shanghai Sharks

Free agent forward Noah Vonleh is expected to sign with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association, sources tell Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.

Vonleh, 26, was the ninth-overall pick in the 2014 draft. Since entering the NBA, he has appeared in a total of 339 regular-season games for Charlotte, Portland, Chicago, New York, Minnesota, Denver and Brooklyn.

However, the 6-foot-10 forward hasn’t been a regular rotation player for an NBA club since the 2018-19 season, when he averaged 8.4 PPG and 7.8 RPG in 68 games (25.3 MPG) for the Knicks. Vonleh was out of the NBA for most of 2020-21, having spent just a couple weeks in February with the Nets before being waived. He appeared in four games for Brooklyn.

For much of the offseason, the Chinese Basketball Association hadn’t permitted its teams to add foreign players due to coronavirus-related concerns. However, now that the league has opted to play its 2021-22 season in a bubble, foreign players will be allowed in the CBA.

Shanghai hasn’t wasted any time in taking advantage of the rule changes, having already agreed to a deal with ex-NBA wing Jamaal Franklin. Carchia reports that the Sharks are also expected to bring back former NBA lottery pick Jimmer Fredette, who has spent most of the last five seasons in Shanghai.