Clippers News: Latest on Lou Williams and Joakim Noah's Role in Rotation

The Los Angeles Clippers registered right alongside the Los Angeles Lakers by making a big splash during the new transaction window in the form of adding Joakim Noah. 

Poetically enough, the Clippers and Lakers will collide on the first night of play when the NBA resumes in Orlando, Florida. 

That contest goes down at 9 p.m. ET on July 30. Before then, the Clippers will travel to Orlando on Wednesday, according to The Athletic's Shams Charania. 

Doc Rivers and Co. have plenty to figure out in the interim as practices get going, including the latest on two of the bigger names on the roster. 

Lou Williams

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Lou Williams is a key cog for the Clippers, to say the least. 

However, the three-time NBA Sixth Man of the Year's availability has been a point of speculation in recent weeks, with his agent, Wallace Prather, telling Andrew Greif of the Los Angeles Times last week the outlook was only "50-50" for his participation in Orlando. 

The clouds seemed to clear a bit on this matter Wednesday, though, with Rivers telling reporters "all indications" point to Williams joining the team. 

He followed with an all-roster outlook, according to The Athletic's Jovan Buha: 

Williams is the biggest talking point, though. His long-term resume speaks for itself and his play has backed it up this season, as he averaged 18.7 points and 5.7 assists over 60 appearances, shooting 41.6 percent from the floor and 36.3 percent from deep. 

Those numbers were good enough to slot the 33-year-old third in scoring and lifted the Clippers to second place in the Western Conference with 44 wins. 

Were the Clippers to lose his production in a quick eight-game regular season and playoff format, it would put big stress on the depth featuring veterans Patrick Beverley and Reggie Jackson, with the latter only playing in nine games so far this year.

And from a strictly scoring standpoint, the Clippers don't have another player who could adequately compensate for Williams' proven production. 

Joakim Noah's Role 

Brandon Dill/Associated Press

Just as Noah getting another deal with the Clippers wasn't a surprise, his role within the rotation and team outright shouldn't provide much of a shock, either. 

After earning a 10-day deal with Clippers in March, the organization brought him back during last week's transaction window. The deal even includes an option for next season, according to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times and Buha.

Noah's addition is clearly a low-risk move for all sides, with his responsibilities firmly resting in the "deep depth" and "mentor" side of things. 

Rivers believes the 35-year-old can have a positive impact on Ivica Zubac, per Buha: 

Makes sense—Noah hasn't actually seen live action since 2018-19 when he averaged 7.1 points and 5.7 rebounds over 16.5 minutes per game with the Memphis Grizzlies. Zubac, 23, is the wave of the future and has already put in 18.1 minutes on average of 64 appearances, averaging 8.0 points and 7.2 rebounds with 60.1 percent shooting from the floor. 

There's an angle where Rivers and his staff look to use bigger lineups early on to keep fresh legs for what should be a deep postseason push. If that happens, Noah could eat up some quality minutes behind Zubac when Montrezl Harrell isn't getting on the floor. 

Otherwise, Noah's playoff experience, ability to serve as a mentor and the smooth option for next season if things go swimmingly paint an encouraging picture about his role this summer.