NBA Free Agency: Joakim Noah Done With the Bulls

With players such as Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard, and DeMar DeRozan set to enter free agency this summer, rumors are starting to surface.

According to the Chicago Sun Times, center Joakim Noah has told teammates that he is done with the Chicago Bulls. Noah is coming off one of the worst years in his NBA career before having season ending shoulder surgery.  Part of the underwhelming season was due to his mistrust for general manager Gar Forman and his connection with the basketball team.

While the news is coming from an undisclosed Bulls player, Joakim has insisted that the problem was not with coach Fred Hoiberg. Yet the connection between Forman and Hoiberg made other players uncomfortable with the center leading the charge. Noah was coming off the bench with reports going back and forth whether he agreed to the reduced role. Jo has denied that he volunteered with this decision, causing mistrust whether this was a coaching decision or a front office decision. The relationship with coach seemed fixed since then, but same can’t be said with the general manager.

During the season, Noah denied an opportunity to be a part of an event for the Bulls Charities department. He was approached by the VP of Bulls Charities, Leslie Forman, who is Gar’s wife. He was annoyed by the way he was approached and pressured, flatly saying no. Which is completely uncharacteristic of Joakim, being one of the most charitable players in the league.

The Bulls VP of Basketball Operations had this to day about re-signing Noah, “Noah represents a lot of things that we believe in…we have an affinity for Jo. But we’ve got to talk, we’ve got to see where it goes”.

Things can change from now until free agency starts.  Yet knowing Noah’s outspoken personality and the way he has approached this season, this rumor could be far from false.