Joakim Noah Remains Unhappy In New Role
It is being reported that Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah is reportedly not happy with his reduced role in the team’s new offense.
The Chicago Bulls are currently dealing with several issues. For starters, on the heels of their season-best six-game winning streak, they have followed that up with a trio of losses.
Secondly, the defense has been a bit shaky as of late, as the Bulls have given up 100 points in 10 of their last 14 games dating back to mid-December. Along with that, the injury list is growing longer by the day, with Derrick Rose (left patellar tendon tendinitis), Pau Gasol (left shoulder/sore Achilles) and Jimmy Butler (soar ankle) all banged up at the moment.
As if those scenarios aren’t bad enough, according to Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, multiple sources have indicated that Bulls big man Joakim Noah still remains unhappy with his reduced role in Fred Hoiberg‘s new offense.
Related Story: 25 Best Players to Play for the Chicago Bulls
"A source said on Tuesday morning that Noah remains unhappy with his current standing in the organization, and “still hasn’t moved past losing his starting job’’ late in training camp. The source went onto say that Noah “hasn’t been a distraction by any means, but isn’t the biggest [coach Fred] Hoiberg fan these days.’’This is not the first time that this has been brought up this season, with Noah feeling like he would be better served as a starter or at least on the court more often in crunch-time.Privately, the Bulls have hoped that winning games would cure a lot of Noah’s woes, but that hasn’t necessarily been the case. It also didn’t help that the Bulls went 7-2 without Noah during a recent shoulder injury, and that he’s been the subject of trade talk."
To be honest, I can’t find fault with Noah being frustrated. After all, he was relegated to the bench before the season even began, marking the first time since his second year in the league that he hasn’t been in the starting lineup.
"“I mean, I don’t know what to say. I wasn’t expecting to play such a limited role,” Noah told the Chicago Tribune. “I’m trying to stay focused on what I can do to help. That’s it.“It’s not about complaining. It’s about trying to find solutions. I want to be part of solutions and try to help figure it out.”"
His 22 minutes per contest are the lowest since his rookie campaign, when he averaged 20.7 minutes per outing. On top of that, Noah is posting career lows in field goal percentage (.383) and free throw shooting (.489).
Taking those factors into consideration, there isn’t a lot for Noah to be happy about these days. Especially when you consider that it wasn’t too long ago that he was one the focal points of the team during the Chicago’s improbable run to the playoffs that included 34 wins over the final 48 games of the 2013-14 season.
That year, as many of you recall, Noah won the Defensive Player of the Year award and finished fourth in MVP voting.
Next: Chicago Bulls: 5 Areas Of Concern Following Latest Setback
Fast forwarding back to the present, it appears that the Bulls and Noah are no longer an ideal fit. And if that is the case, should the Bulls consider moving the nine-year veteran prior to the trade deadline? Or should they hope that Noah will somehow be okay with a continued reduced role and watching games from the bench during crunch time?
Whether or not the Bulls decide to keep Noah remains to be seen. However, being that Noah is a competitor in every sense of the word, it would not surprise me if he decided to keep his options open as this story continues to unfold.
In other words, it is very possible that Bulls fans are watching Noah’s last season in a Bulls uniform.