NBA free agency: 5 teams for Joakim Noah

The Atlanta Hawks probably don’t have the cap space to pull this off, but if they do it would certainly mean that starting small forward Kent Bazemore is playing somewhere else in 2016-17. The thought of former Florida Gator superstar teammates in Noah and Horford on the same team again does offer huge intrigue. The most obvious place for this to reunion to occur in is with Horford’s Hawks.

Horford will enter 2016 NBA free agency looking to garner a maximum contract that the four-time NBA All-Star is certainly worth. Atlanta has his Bird Rights and can offer Horford both more money and that extra year over any other team in the league. While he may not want to walk away from the only NBA franchise he has played for to date, it wouldn’t hurt to bring Noah into the fold in a rotational role.

Noah is foremost an outstanding defensive player, capable of blocking shots, gathering rebounds, and anchoring any defensive unit he plays in. Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer won’t play guys that don’t have great defensive acumen, but Noah’s reputation as an elite defender should supersede Budenholzer’s difficult to crack 10-man rotation.

Noah’s offensive game will forever be raw and won’t be a stretch five playing for the Hawks, but he passes the ball extremely well for a center, offers some range with his jumper, and can get to the free throw line and make clutch shots.

Atlanta will have to overpay Noah on a two-year deal as a rotational player, but a front court of Horford, Noah, Paul Millsap, Tiago Splitter to name a few could make the Hawks much more formidable in the NBA Playoffs as a team that isn’t putrid on the boards. They’ll still have to rectify their small forward spot, but Noah could be a boon to Atlanta’s front court rotation, moving Horford back to his natural position of true power forward.

Next: 4. Charlotte Hornets