Report: Joakim Noah Telling Bulls Teammates He's On His Way Out In Free Agency
(CBS) With his unrestricted free agency looming in July, Bulls big man Joakim Noah has told teammates he's "done" with the organization, the Sun-Times' Joe Cowley reported Wednesday.
The 31-year-old Noah has spent his entire nine-year career in Chicago, but he's coming off his most difficult season as a professional, as he played just 29 games and averaged a career-low 4.3 points before suffering a season-ending left shoulder injury in mid-January and undergoing surgery. The injury setback came one year after Noah had been severely hampered by a bad left knee.
Noah and rookie coach Fred Hoiberg also got off to a rocky start, as Noah was also relegated to a bench role for the first time in his career. What really irked Noah in that move was how Hoiberg publicly portrayed the situation. In the first week of the regular season, Hoiberg claimed Noah volunteered to come off the bench. A proud veteran, Noah then vehemently denied that, saying he wanted to start and only that he was willing to do what was best for the team.
Perhaps the bigger issue is that Noah has lost trust in the front office, Cowley reported, as Noah has no faith in general manager Gar Forman.
At a season-ending news conference after the Bulls missed the playoffs, president of basketball operations John Paxson said the team has an "affinity" for Noah and planned to engage in discussions with him in free agency. Whether Noah's willing to listen to the Bulls' pitch is now in doubt.
"I just want to prove I have a lot more basketball in me," Noah said in late January after his shoulder surgery.