LA Clippers: Team might need Joakim Noah beyond veteran presence

The signing of Joakim Noah back in March gave the LA Clippers a fantastic locker room presence, but the team might need him for more than that soon enough.

When the LA Clippers signed the defensive-driven Joakim Noah back in March, it was a reliable addition to their already immense depth. With two stellar players already occupying the frontcourt in Ivica Zubac and Montrezl Harrell, it seemed that Noah’s role would revolve more around delivering knowledge than delivering on the court. However, it appears that the team might need Noah in a more substantial role as the NBA restart draws closer.

Dealing with a personal matter, Zubac has been absent from the LA Clippers since they set foot in the NBA’s Orlando campus. Now, Harrell has also left to tend to a family matter. With the timetable for returning up in the air right now regarding their two most prominent frontcourt players, Joakim Noah might get a genuine opportunity to showcase his talents.

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With the 2013-14 Defensive Player of the Year Honors and three prior All-NBA selections under his belt, Noah is unquestionably a force on that end of the floor. For the LA Clippers, who ranked fifth in defensive rating with 106.6 up until the stoppage, this signing only bolstered their already top-heavy defense.

Noah’s 6’11” frame providing an imposing presence in the paint while players such as Kawhi Leonard, Patrick Beverley, and Paul George guard the wing is a nightmarish thought for opposing offenses. Scoring on the Clippers was already a daunting task, but the addition of Noah potentially made things that much harder.

The big man’s production offensively has increasingly dropped since his dominant days with the Chicago Bulls, but Noah has never been a lethal threat offensively. He does his damage primarily on the defensive end, which made him a perfect fit with the Clippers. With dynamic scorers around him, such as Paul George, Kawhi Leonard, and Lou Williams, among others, LA does not need to depend on Noah to score double-digits every night. Instead, he can be that defensive force down low, a role much for fitting.

The two-time All-Star also brings hard-earned experience to this team with monumental championship aspirations. Noah was a considerable contributor to those Chicago Bulls teams that made deep runs in the postseason consistently all those years ago. Although he might not be that version of himself anymore, the veteran center can still produce quality numbers if given a role.

Still, at the moment, it is not a foregone conclusion that the Clippers will have to rely this heavily on Joakim Noah when the restart begins. Harrell and Zubac could certainly be back when the team kicks off their resumed season against the Los Angeles Lakers on July 30th, given they return and undergo the proper quarantine measures by then.

If not, this is exactly why the team signed him. He is a savvy veteran with a quality resume, who at 35-years-old, could still potentially come in and make a noteworthy difference, or just be a welcoming figure in the locker room. Either way, bringing Joakim Noah in was a masterful move for the team.

These past few seasons have not been kind to Noah, but hopefully, this change of scenery to a title-contending team allows him to show that he still has some fuel left in the tank. When he last played, Noah suited up for the Memphis Grizzlies with averages of 7.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game in the 2018-19 season.

As it stands, the LA Clippers are without Landry Shamet, Marcus Morris Sr., Montrezl Harrell, and Ivica Zubac for various reasons in the bubble. Hopefully, these players can rejoin the team at some point during the resumed season, but if not, guys like Joakim Noah will patiently be waiting for the call to action.