The Chicago Bulls were dealing with a log jam of bigs in the froncourt as they struggled to find a way to get everyone playing time. Now they are dealing with injuries that have them searching for help. Joakim Noah entered the year with something to prove and now might not see the court again which has Chicago changing their plans at the trade deadline.
According to ESPN's Nick Friedell, Noah is likely out for the remainder of the season after an MRI revealed he suffered a separated left shoulder and will need surgery to repair the issue. This is the second shoulder injury Noah has dealt with this season. His return to the court offered hope that he would be fine for the remainder of the year, but that is no longer the case. There is a small chance that he might be able to see playing time come the playoffs, but that is not a guarantee. Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler admitted that they are concerned moving forward as head coach Fred Hoiberg said Noah's leadership will be missed.
"Jo, he's such a passionate kid," Hoiberg said, via ESPN.com. "A big-time leader of this team. He has so much energy -- even when he wasn't playing, he was always keeping guys' spirits up being around here, and I know he'll continue to do that. But I really feel bad the fact that he's going to have to have a surgical procedure to fix this. But at the end of the day, I know Jo's going to be fine."
Noah's injury comes at a very bad time for the center. Noah entered the year playing on an expiring contract. He was hopeful to have a bounce-back season in order to earn a nice pay raise with the increasing salary caps. Instead, he was replaced as a starter, struggled to find minutes and now suffered the injury. The chances are high that he has played his final game with the Bulls as the team figures out how to replace him.
The other issue for Chicago is that right now Pau Gasol is also hurting, dealing with shoulder and achilles issues. According to Sam Amick of USA Today, the Bulls have explored trade options for Noah, Gasol and Taj Gibson. Now they really cannot afford to lose anyone at the moment. Gibson has been solid for Chicago. He is on the books for $8.9 million next year, but they can deal with that issue in the offseason. Amick reports that Gasol has a very short list of teams that he would be willing to get traded to and while he does plan to opt out of the final year of his contract, the Bulls cannot get rid of him with Noah out.
For now, Chicago will try to replace Noah by committee. The Bulls have Nikola Mirotic playing well. Bobby Portis is thriving in his rookie year. Doug McDermott is proving to be an asset. According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Gibson will likely move to being the backup center while everyone else has their minutes increase. Gasol recognized that it will be hard at first, but the team has depth.
"I don't know how much they can or will increase (minutes) at this point," Gasol said, via the Sun-Times. "I like to compete. And I like to push it until the wheels fall off. Hopefully, it won't get to that point. I just want to do whatever I can to help this team as much as possible. If I play a couple more minutes a game, so be it."