Memphis Grizzlies: Nerlens Noel, C
Sometimes when you do exercises like this, it is very hard to find the player a respective team needs. Other times, it is very easy. This was the latter. The Memphis Grizzlies were already fairly thin at the center position by the time the off-season was over. They had already lost Brandon Clarke to a torn Achilles in March 2023. Then, Steven Adams' injured PCL was re-evaluated, and was later deemed out for this season. That left them with a starting center of Bismack Biyombo, and a backup of Xavier Tillman. While I love Biyombo as an energy guy and Tillman is solid off the bench, they need help. Nerlens Noel can provide them with that help.
Most, if not all, of the selections for this exercise were looking at available free agents that could help provide depth off the bench for the respective teams. For this selection here, I am going to say that I think they could start Noel over Biyombo and Tillman. Noel would give them size, better rim protection, and better overall player efficiency than what they currently have. Noel's Per-36 minute career stat line of 11.7 points, 10 rebounds, and 2.4 blocks per game suggest that if he sees the court for a decent amount of time, he could truly make an impact for this Grizzlies team.
Noel won't solve all of their problems, apparently, that's for Ja Morant, but he does give them the biggest body on their current roster. If they continue to win with Morant being back in the lineup, they will need frontcourt depth as the season continues. The Griz should really consider bringing him in now and seeing what they can get out of the 29-year-old.