Joakim Noah will join LA Clippers for workouts this week
According to the latest rumors, free agent big man Joakim Noah will be joining the LA Clippers this week for workouts. LA still has one roster spot open.
Joakim Noah‘s name has been tied to the LA Clippers for weeks now, with rumors coming from all over about his connection to the team. It was pure speculation at first — the Clippers were in need of a center, and Noah was among the best remaining on the market. But ever since the Los Angeles Lakers chose to sign Dwight Howard over him, it’s become a slightly more official thing. The speculation progressed into tidbits of information, some of which came from Noah’s father, and now into some news that’s come out this morning.
According to The Athletic‘s Shams Charania (subscription required), Noah is planning to join the Clippers this week for workouts. That’s a significant development in this story and one that certainly seems to signal what LA has in mind for its final roster spot.
Make no mistake, the Clippers are a deep team. They may even be the deepest team in the league. But if there’s one part of the roster that could use some help, it’s at the center position.
Ivica Zubac is the presumed starter right now. He joined the Clippers late last season via trade from the Los Angeles Lakers, and in 25 starts, he looked very solid. In roughly 20 minutes per game, the 22-year-old averaged 9.4 points and 7.7 rebounds while shooting 53.8 percent from the floor. He did enough to impress LA’s front office, as the Clippers re-signed Zubac this summer to a four-year deal.
That being said, Zubac has his limitations. He was played out of the first round of the playoffs last season, and while he’s rumored to be working on adding a three-point shot to his game, it could be a while before we see him rely on it.
The upcoming season will be his fourth in the NBA, so the young center has no shortage of experience. Time will tell if he can become the Clippers’ full-time center of the future (or at least the next few years), but for now, some insurance would come in handy.
Montrezl Harrell is a better overall player than Zubac, but it wouldn’t be wise for LA to send him out with the starting unit. He’s extremely undersized for a center at 6 feet 8 inches, and while his hustle is virtually unmatched, bigger centers like Joel Embiid and Karl-Anthony Towns would probably get the best of him.
The Clippers would also be breaking up one of the most potent duos in the NBA by starting Harrell, which is made up of him and Lou Williams. According to Basketball-Reference, the combo of Harrell and Williams was nearly four points better per 100 possessions than their opponents in 2019. The sample size is more than sufficient, too — the two logged over 1600 minutes together last season.
That just leaves Noah, whose strengths are exactly what the Clippers need.
As a more traditional big, Noah isn’t going to make the big-time plays or sink a pretty-looking three-point shot. He will, however, play with tremendous energy, crash the glass on both ends of the floor, and disrupt just about any other big’s gameplan. He’s also an above-average shooter from the free-throw line, which makes him playable in late- and close-game situations.
Even at 34, Noah is an extremely valuable asset — especially for a team that’s looking to make a deep playoff run.
Next. Three things Joakim Noah would bring to the LA Clippers. dark
If Noah impresses during his workouts, it wouldn’t come as a big surprise if the LA Clippers opted to sign him to a minimum deal. He’s still got plenty left in the tank, and after the Lakers missed out on him, it would be the perfect way for the Clippers to cap off a perfectly-executed offseason.