Does Joakim Noah Make the Clippers Better?

NBA teams hearing the Clippers signed Joakim Noah:

Is this signing more than meets the eye?

At first glance the news of Joakim Noah signing with the Clippers may not have turned many heads, but it shouldn’t be overlooked. The 35 year old’s best season was back in 2013-2014 when he started 80 games for the Bulls and averaged 12.6 points and 11.3 rebounds (both career highs), Noah also took home the defensive player of the year title and received 1 of his 2 all star game selections (basketball-reference.com). More recently Noah averaged 7.1 points and 5.7 rebounds in just over 16 minutes per game with the Grizzlies last season (basketball-reference.com). His energetic, tough, and hard-nosed play style should fit in great with the Clippers’ culture shaped by players like Patrick Beverley and Montrezl Harrell. In my opinion if Noah is to make a positive impact it will happen in the playoffs rather than the regular season. Noah will bring added size, interior defense, rebounding ability, and physicality to the Clippers bench, which are all amplified in importance during the playoffs. To answer the question, does Joakim Noah make the Clippers better? The answer is yes, slightly, and some times that’s all you need. Whether it comes in the form of an offensive rebound, diving on the floor for a lose ball, or giving out a hard foul to stop an easy basket, these are the seemingly small things that need to be done to win games, and Noah can do them.

Let us know what you think of this signing in the comments!

Source of the thumbnail image here