#32: Welcome to Orlando, Noah Penda!

[RookieStar]

He plays for the city of Le Mans? That's neat.

His nickname can be "Le Man"

Errrrr...

Penda Express is just right there

[Optimus_Steel]

Phillip from Locked in Magic says the Magic have a roster spot for him this year. So he is not a stash guy. Looking forward to summer league with Jase and Penda.

[Knightro]

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[Knightro]

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[DiplomaticMagic]

Havent heard of him before but like what Im reading. Isaac stays though!

[ogmagicfan]

Potential Isaac replacement, I like the pick.

[flying_mollusk]

Looks like the type of guy that will works his ass of to improve shooting. Could be a lock down 3 and D guy if he does

[thelead]

If the 3 improves, he becomes our Joe Ingles that plays elite defense. That's likely the ultimate vision when giving up 4 2nds for him.

That's my positive take.

[Knightro]

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[Knightro]

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[RookieStar]

I think he is a guy who probably wont stand out in sumner league type of play.

I think its Jase who will ball out

[dsg2021]

Initial Review:
Noah Penda, a 20-year-old French forward, measured at 6'7.25" tall (without shoes), with a 6’11.5” wingspan, a standing reach of 8'10.5 inches, and weighed in at 242 pounds. Penda played a power forward/center style hybrid for LeMans but shows a lot of guard-like traits too.

We heard from the ESPN broadcast that multiple teams wanted him in the late 1st if he was willing to be stashed one more year. But his preference was to join an NBA team now. We also heard from Weltman that they were there as scouts in the seats to his games. From what I have gathered (and you might start thinking the same with the below sources), he seems to have a very, very special level of defense AND of passing for what might be a 4/5/3 labeled player.

His lateral defense on the perimeter is usually considered a strength. And it seems there was a bit of a mysterious "je ne sais quoi" vibe with him on the floor, like a "He has It, the It factor". Remember, we don't have a strong idea of him as College Basketball people here, but NBA teams do, and Noah also played against bigger, stronger players than he would have in the NCAAM. (Where are you Pepe and the other Euro guys here?)

I've placed a 4/5/3 label on him because I just came away from these Playoffs with a theme of 4/5's like Obi Toppin and Naz Reid having great impacts. A few days ago, I looked into the measurables of bigs who are great on defense but more specifically out onto the perimeter, like Nic Claxton and our JI. The average of their measurables came out to like 6'11, 235 lbs, and 7'1 wingspan. It seems Noah Penda squeaks into that category of Big. Do you know much many of us were complaining (especially me) about needing a Big who can switch-defend on the perimeter this offseason?

Most recent stats:
https://basketball.eurobasket.com/player/Noah-Penda/597686#google_vignette
https://basketball.realgm.com/player/Noah-Penda/Summary/165599


NBA/RotoWire:
His game has shades of Jaime Jaquez and Simone Fontecchio as strong forwards who can be connectors on offense, while also having the awareness to help teammates on the defensive end.

Sam Vecenie/The Athletic:
Noah Penda's tape on defense is super fun. Can get a bit gambly from time to time, but you also can't find many dudes who are 6-7 without shoes with a 6-11 wingspan at 245 pounds who can also slide their feet laterally and stay in front of Mike James before swatting his jumper.

Danny Chau/The Ringer:
In a French league populated with former NBA talents and grizzled basketball lifers, it’s the 20-year-old Penda who leads the league in combined steals and blocks per game—his “stock” rates edging out even those of Andre Roberson, the former NBA ace defender. But Penda hasn’t reached those heights just by having young legs; more often than not, he wins on defense with advanced pattern recognition and hand-eye coordination. That’s not to say he isn’t athletic—his functional strength and movement skills serve as the chassis for his processor. He is comfortable diagnosing plays on the spot, communicating assignments, and seamlessly rotating and recovering to fill gaps on defense. There is immense value in simply knowing where to be and how to get there as urgently as possible.
Penda’s spatial awareness is one of his greatest gifts on offense, too. He makes quick decisions both with the ball in his hands as a driver and on the catch as a cutter, passing into open windows for easy buckets. He’ll never be confused for a full-time point forward, but Penda has the vision and instincts to keep the wheels greased on offense as a connective arm.

Graham Chapple/Peachtree Hoops SBNation:
Awesome commentary scouting and research compilation from Graham Chapple, must check out the link. In fact, he was high on Penda's 3 point shooting. And Penda played in a NBA 3 point line type of league with bigger bodies. He even excelled at taking 3's a couple steps even further away from the 3 point line.
https://www.peachtreehoops.com/2025/6/14/24446600/2025-nba-draft-scouting-report-noah-penda-atlanta-hawks-profile

Final Thoughts:
Penda did a good job putting himself into some good catch-and-shoot 3 opportunities too. And here is the proof in the pudding; 36.6% 3P% on his catch-and-shoot threes this season on 71 attempts in 29 games. If Noah Penda really does slink towards 4/5/3 positionally instead of a 3/4/5, then JI just found his shorter, french twin brother. Because the best stat to leave it at is, opposing scorers had a crazy low 27.3% FG% when guarded by Penda in isolations.

[yoyojw17]

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"Opposing scorers have an astounding 27.3% FG (!) when guarded by Noah Penda in isolation.

The multi-positional defending, lateral quickness, physicality & overbearing length — these are the makings of an All-NBA defender & Penda fits that bill."

GOOD LAWD!

And you got Bane at 37% as well.

MAN I CAN'T WAIT FOR THIS SEASON TO START.

But... i'll take a lil summer league first.

Jase
Jett
TDS
Penda

yuuuuup!

Welcome to Orlando Penda Express!

VFX.... that was a good one!

[Driguez]

Penda looks promising. Have to give it to Weltman he’s on a roll.

[OrlandoDream]

I dont know much about this kid but he was stated to be a FRP in multiple mocks. Clearly Weltman saw something on him to give up multiple seconds to move up. This to me speaks more of a trade coming for one of JI and Goga. My take is on JI. That contract needs to be moved given our current cap situation. Penda is most likely a 4 backup as insurance for JI being gone and/or Mo rehabing.

[yoyojw17]

I dont know much about this kid but he was stated to be a FRP in multiple mocks. Clearly Weltman saw something on him to give up multiple seconds to move up. This to me speaks more of a trade coming for one of JI and Goga. My take is on JI. That contract needs to be moved given our current cap situation. Penda is most likely a 4 backup as insurance for JI being gone and/or Mo rehabing.

That's how i see it. It's another Bane situation. "WE WANT THIS PLAYER"... ponied up the picks. His frugalness left us with assets to use when needed. lol

I'm still not sure about a JI or goga trade this summer without it being a great fit incoming. I love JI next to Moe... and i just love the security Goga gives me knowing that he is there. hahah

But.... as the team figures things out early in the season.... i can see things shaking up by the trade deadline if the young players show promise.

[zaymon]

I am from europe but i dont have any special knowledge about french league outside that its one of the better ones outside spanish.
Penda seems to have a game we want to play, but didnt have guys in the past. I like this draft more than last one which is weird.
I told you guys Weltman has that aggressive side in him ! Stocking assets was for a reason and to use them not take to the grave.

[BlueBalls]

So I cannot be accused of praising or criticizing a pick about whom I know nada, I did a deep dive into Penda.

He’s thick - sturdy - and plays taller than the 6’7 - 6’8” he’s listed, and that’s got a lot to do with his 7’ wingspan.

Strong & athletic. Doesn’t get pushed around.

Decent handle for a guy his size. Relatively quick. Good athlete. Attacks closeouts - penetrates well.


His stroke isn’t as bad as I feared. It’s aesthetically pleasing, but it’s relatively slow. I think his 3P % this past year was 31%. The jumper will need to speed up and go in the basket more often for him to fit the coveted 3 & D archetype.

Looks like a really good defender. I watched a lot of video but wasn’t able to come away with a real feel of what kind of rebounder he is/will be. Seems like he can block shots well, and we have no one who does that other than Isaac.

Has a great frame and does enough well to get 8-12 rotation minutes right now. I see the vision of what he might be in 2-4 years and I like it. We have more picks than I realized in the next few years so I’m fine with giving up the extra 2nd rounders.

I still think Kalkbrenner was a better for our roster - even if he has a lower ceiling, he does more of what we really need and will play day one.

Still, I think I like him. I know I like Richardson.


Good draft.

[OrlandoDream]

I dont know much about this kid but he was stated to be a FRP in multiple mocks. Clearly Weltman saw something on him to give up multiple seconds to move up. This to me speaks more of a trade coming for one of JI and Goga. My take is on JI. That contract needs to be moved given our current cap situation. Penda is most likely a 4 backup as insurance for JI being gone and/or Mo rehabing.

That's how i see it. It's another Bane situation. "WE WANT THIS PLAYER"... ponied up the picks. His frugalness left us with assets to use when needed. lol

I'm still not sure about a JI or goga trade this summer without it being a great fit incoming. I love JI next to Moe... and i just love the security Goga gives me knowing that he is there. hahah

But.... as the team figures things out early in the season.... i can see things shaking up by the trade deadline if the young players show promise.

Maybe but we still have one roster spot unfilled and still need a PG off the bench. Jase is the only real PG we have on the roster. We cant expect to go far in the playoffs with some type of well known PG either starting or bench minutes. That expiring Sexton is making a lot of sense here. He would be a solid 6th man. IF if doesn't work out then we get off his salary and use elsewhere.

Im not upset with the picks. I saw something that we still have like 9 second round picks over next 7 years. We need to trade these picks for established rotation players. The majority of these picks next couple of years arent even gonna be in the rotation with our core guys more set now.

For the C, I rather keep Goga. ON a friendly short contract and tough minded player who can be solid backup. WCJ and JI are both made of glass and I don't trust their health for an entire season. We need backup C insurance with those two. WE just cant continue to afford two injury prone bigs every year. Its been 8 years of JI, its time. He is going to be 28yo and those lower extremity injuries are going to start slowing him down significantly once those late 20s early 30s comes.

[Knightro]

I know it's kind of lazy because they're both French, but Penda really does remind me of Boris Diaw.

Diaw came into the league as a not very good shooter, but just brought so many other things to the table as a passer, rebounder and defender. He was a floor raising connector guy who really shined even brighter when he could fill the gaps next to stars like Nash, Stoudemire early on and Duncan, Parker, Kawhi and Ginobili later.

And eventually from age 24-31, Diaw worked his way into being a 35-36% 3PT shooter and that was more than good enough given everything else he could do well.