If Kendrick Perkins had his way, the Utah Jazz would add a very interesting and distinguished player to their roster as a backup center.
All of a sudden, former NBA champion Kendrick Perkins has seemed to have a lot to say about the Utah Jazz. Previously, he was less than thrilled with Rudy Gobert‘s All-NBA selection, much to the chagrin of the Utah faithful. However, since that moment, he’s righted himself in the eyes of several Jazz fans. First, by apologizing for his statement on the Stifle Tower, then later, as I wrote about here at The J-Notes, by declaring the Jazz as his pick for the team to come out of the West.
Since that latest praise, the one-time Jazzman (and by one-time, I really mean one-time – he was part of the Enes Kanter trade but never suited up for the Jazz as he was waived in short order) has seemingly had the Utah Jazz on his mind. In particular, there’s a certain player he’d like them to pursue to bulk up their frontcourt.
The guy he has in mind may shock you, but Perkins seems all in on the Joakim Noah-to-Utah train.
Well, maybe it’s not fair to call it a train, as Perk may very well be the only passenger aboard. So perhaps it’s more of a Noah-to-Utah wagon. As in one of those little red Radio Flyer Wagons, that is…
Anyhow, first Perk had the following to say about liking Noah’s fit with the Jazz–
I’m going to say this again the Lakers need a big that’s a dynamic roller to the basket and that’s a lob threat at the rim, a rebounder, and shot blocker and people can say what they want but the best fit is Dwight Howard. I like Noah but he would be a better fit in Utah!
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) August 20, 2019
Of course, the context behind this tweet was that Joakim Noah was one of three players alongside Dwight Howard and Marreese Speights that the Los Angeles Lakers were considering as a potential replacement for DeMarcus Cousins, who recently tore his ACL and could very well miss the entirety of the 2019-20 season.
After Friday’s news that the Lakers had indeed been most impressed with and decided to take a chance on Howard – the former Laker himself – that left Noah yet again on the market for any team that could be interested in the grizzled vet. Once again, Perkins piped up with a suggestion on where the big man should wind up–
Dwight must have shined like new Money in his workouts with the Lakers I see. Now Utah needs to be looking at signing Noah!
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) August 23, 2019
With the Howard-to-LA decision wrapped up and Noah still available, Perkins doubled down, clearly wanting the Jazz to go after Joakim.
Playing devil’s advocate here, I can see in some respect where Perk is coming from. After all, because of the departure of Derrick Favors, the Jazz lost a lot of size and strength in their frontcourt. Favs was phenomenal on the defensive end and his presence will be missed in a lot of ways.
The Jazz brought in Ed Davis to play the backup center role behind Rudy Gobert, and he should be well-equipped for the job. But they’re quite undersized beyond those two with the likes of Jeff Green, Georges Niang, perhaps Royce O’Neale, and as needed, Joe Ingles and Bojan Bogdanovic taking over the four-spot. Sure, the power forward position has downsized significantly across the league in recent seasons, but the Jazz still find themselves lacking in size. Ekpe Udoh‘s departure contributed to that as well.
And to Noah’s credit, he’s long been known as a no-nonsense, gritty defensive player with plenty of playoff experience with teams that have played at a high level. That kind of mentality and experience could very well allow him to fit on a Jazz team that is looking for similar traits.
Nevertheless, the Jazz appear ready to turn the third-string center duties over to Tony Bradley who played quite well in Summer League. Not only that, but they already have their training camp roster set and aside from competition for the 15th spot that will likely take place between William Howard and Stanton Kidd, their 15-man roster is likely all but in place as well.
That doesn’t mean the Jazz couldn’t go after and add Noah – they could certainly make space for him if truly desired – but it seems far from likely. Noah’s best years are definitely far behind him, and with the likes of Gobert, Davis and even Bradley already on the roster, it’s hard to determine what his role would even be.
Sure, the veteran experience could help, but Noah’s been an interesting locker room fit in years past and I get the sense he’s looking for an opportunity where he can actually play, not just watch from the end of the bench. Additionally, the Jazz likely would prefer to use their 15th roster spot to develop a young and promising prospect who could still benefit the team down the road rather than hand it to Noah who would be a short-term addition whose ceiling at this point isn’t much higher than his floor.
So, I have a feeling that Perkins’ desire will go unfulfilled. Nevertheless, it’s cool to see someone of his reputation looking out for a team like the small-market Utah Jazz and hoping to find ways that they can improve on their already incredible core. Hopefully his respect and well-wishes won’t go unnoticed or unrewarded.
But in this instance, I’d say Perks’ hope is just another example of players rarely having the team-building prowess of good front office execs. A decision that’s popular by those on the court isn’t always the one the experts off the court are going to pursue as the best for their team. Fortunately, Utah Jazz fans can trust in the likes of Dennis Lindsey and Justin Zanik who are certain to make the wisest decision available to them, which probably won’t include Joakim Noah.