Joakim Noah is looking for a bounce back season as he plays out the final year of his contract with the Chicago Bulls. The center is hoping to improve this year in order to cash in big time next free agency period, but if he is going to do so, it will be from the bench. Right now, Noah is leading the reserves in the new system for the Bulls and while he might not be thrilled about it, the position is not changing any time soon.
The Chicago Bulls are trying to find an identity and much of that has to do with their defensive struggles. New head coach Frank Hoiberg has been starting Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic together with Noah coming off the bench. That did not appear to be making much of a difference, but it is not changing. On Monday night it appeared that Noah would be getting the start over Mirotic as the team originally announced the lineup via Vincent Goodwill of CSNChicago.com. However, at tip off, Mirotic was the starter and Noah sat out with knee soreness.
According to Goodwill, Hoiberg told the media before the game that there was no set starting five for the Bulls right now which is why Noah was announced as a starter against the 76ers. However once again an injury crept up and kept the center off the court. Noah stressed that he really did want to play on Monday night.
"You don't plan on these things," Noah said, via ESPN.com. "I wasn't expecting it. I've been feeling great up to this point, and it just happened. I don't think it's [anything] too serious, but it was definitely a situation where I had to be smart. I wanted to play tonight really bad."
The Bulls have a lot of size on the roster which is why Hoiberg might not be set on a starting five, but so far he likes the pairing of Gasol and Mirotic with Noah and Taj Gibson coming off the bench. This does not help Noah's case to earn a top contract come free agency next summer. The center made it clear to the media that being a reserve was certainly not his idea and while he is not thrilled about it, he plans on doing what he is told in order to win games.
"Did he specifically say I want to come off the bench? No. Nobody wants to come off the bench, but it's the decision that we came up with," Hoiberg said, via ESPN.com. "He's been great. He's been as enthusiastic as anybody over there on the bench when he's not in the game, and he's always going to bring it when he's on the floor, so no, things are fine."
The Bulls have certainly been a team to watch this season with the storylines surrounding Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler. The benching of Noah has also been a new fold for the franchise under Hoiberg. The new head coach clearly feels no pressure to play certain stars which could be a storyline throughout the year.
