Why Kenneth Faried is a better fit for the Trail Blazers than Joakim Noah

With the Portland Trail Blazers frontcourt in tatters, it may be time for them to explore one of the best remaining free agent options in Kenneth Faried.

Not even a full ten games into the 2019-20 season, and the Portland Trail Blazers have suffered a devastating amount of injuries to their lineup of big men. Jusuf Nurkic, Zach Collins, Pau Gasol and Hassan Whiteside have all found themselves sidelined due to nagging injuries.

If watching Al Horford and Tobias Harris abuse Anthony Tolliver as the defensive anchor at center on Saturday night wasn’t enough to prove the Blazers need to make a change, I don’t know what will.

But without making a trade that requires giving up future assets, who are the best options remaining on a barren free agency table? Most would agree the two most interesting big men on the market are Kenneth Faried and Joakim Noah.

But what sets Faried apart from his potential competitor?

1. Rebounding ability

They don’t call Faried the “Manimal” for nothing. Despite only standing at 6-foot-8, you can always count on Faried to get dirty down low in the trenches and fight hard for every rebound. In his 25 games with Houston last season, Faried 8.2 rebounds — 3.3 of which came on the offensive end — per game in just 24 minutes played per outing.

Last season, Faried gobbled up 18.8 percent of all available rebounds when he was on the court — 23rd best among all players in the NBA who logged more than 30 games last year. Similar to ex-Trail Blazer Ed Davis, his ferocious tenacity on the glass is something that would be greatly appreciated in Portland.

2. Offensive Efficiency

Perhaps it was just a byproduct of playing in Houston’s hyper-analytical offensive scheme, but Faried showed impressive development when he opened up his game on offense. He scored 12.9 points per game with Houston, and posted career highs in true shooting (62.2) and effective field goal (60.4) percentages.

Normally, it would be easy to brush this off and attribute these increases to playing under Daryl Morey. However, Faried matched or beat those same shooting splits in his 12 games with the Brooklyn Nets — despite being outspokenly discontent with his role on the team (which eventually led to him being waived). Houston improved 6.8 points per 100 possessions whenever Faried was on the court, that is a very encouraging number for a Trail Blazers team with limited options.

3. Youth and Versatility

Let’s not be mistaken, Faried is hardly a young gun ready to assume a bigger role and finally spring into action. In fact, he will be turning 30-years-old later this month. In comparison to Noah however, he should still have a lot left in the tank. Meanwhile, Noah is halfway to 35 and has logged over 20,000 minutes. Faried on the other hand, is sitting at just over 12,000 minutes played. It’s impossible knowing just how much more mileage we’ll be able to see out of Noah after so many years of playing under Tom Thibodeau — who also ran Derrick Rose and Luol Deng into the ground.

Additionally, Faried has the athleticism and frame to play a more versatile role than Noah. Despite playing 72 percent of his minutes at power forward over the course of his career, Faried logged 87 percent of his minutes at center last year. He even played 14 percent of minutes at small forward in 2018. While he’s not known as a defender, he is versatile enough to switch onto multiple positions and generates a healthy amount of steals and blocks per games. Houston’s defense allowed 2.1 less points per 100 possessions whenever Faried was on the court.

Faried has proven to be a very adaptable player and one who will always give 100 percent effort on the floor. That seems to be a textbook Terry Stotts player, and one who could possibly excel in Portland’s read option system. Kenneth Faried is a risk worth gambling on for the Trail Blazers.