Joakim Noah entered this season with a lot to prove. The center had struggled last year with injuries and poor numbers and as he entered a contract season, improvement was necessary. That failed to happen as Noah lost his starting job and suffered a shoulder injury that has officially ended his season. Now with his future uncertain, Noah is making it clear that he wants to remain in Chicago.
Noah knows there is a lot of uncertainty right now with what will happen next year. His contract is expiring while he sits on the bench after having season-ending shoulder surgery. However, Noah told the media that he wants to remain with Chicago where he has spent his entire career and is hopeful that a deal can get done.
"I hope so," Noah said, via ESPN.com. "Right now I'm not trying to focus on the future. I just had season-ending surgery last week. But this is all I know. So I'm looking forward to see what the guys are doing, and right now it's just all about taking a step back and just focusing on getting healthy, and then we'll go from there."
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, a lot will go into the decision on whether or not to bring Noah back and much of it will factor around his contract demands. The Bulls will in no way overpay for Noah regardless of what happens with the rest of the roster considering he has not been the same shut-down defender in a few years. While the team is at risk of losing guys like Pau Gasol, they will still be cautious with what to do with Noah.
"This is all I know," Noah said. "I've been here nine years, and I've been injured before. Maybe not in this position, this situation, but yeah, I'm looking forward to being around the guys."
Gasol told the Chicago Tribune that if he continues to stay healthy and play well he will opt out of his contract and hit free agency in order to capitalize on the growing salary caps next offseason. That means the Bulls are at risk of losing two of their bigs in the summer leaving them with Bobby Portis who is improving in his rookie year, Taj Gibson and Nikola Mirotic who has struggled with consistency. Noah appears to have the support of Derrick Rose and head coach Fred Hoiberg, but if he demands too much money that will mean nothing.