Times are changing in Chicago. The Bulls are now Jimmy Butler’s team, and center Joakim Noah is “unhappy,” coming off the bench, per The Chicago Sun-Times. Once upon a time Noah was the Bulls’ emotional leader, but now he is an aging big man caught on a roster with a glut at his position.
If he’s unhappy – and he has good reason to be – the move isn’t to appease him. It’s to ship him out while he still has value. Here are the three teams to which he should be moved ASAP.
Derrick Rose More Likely To Be In D-League Than Be Traded
Toronto Raptors
The Raptors are currently the No. 2 seed in the East on the strength of their stellar backcourt, featuring Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan. Come playoff time the Raptors still don’t look rugged enough to survive four rough playoff series.
That’s where Joakim Noah would come in. Noah is known as one of the toughest big men in the NBA, and a top-notch post defender. He’s not as skilled as Jonas Valanciunas on the offensive end, but he’s a gifted facilitator, and he’s capable of getting tough rebounds and blocks as well as doing dirty work. He’s also gone after this year if things don’t work out, which takes $13 million off Toronto’s books.
Jimmy Butler Must Be Accepted As The Bulls New Leader
Milwaukee Bucks
The Bucks have a ton of long, athletic young guns with no idea how to win. Noah may not fit well with Greg Monroe, but he would serve as a locker room leader for the Bucks’ young players like Giannis Antetokuonmpo and Jabari Parker. The Bucks don’t have much in the way of big men – partially because they like to play pseudo-small ball with a bunch of lanky small forwards – but Noah gives them a dimension of grit they sorely lack.
Brooklyn Nets
Mikhail Prokhorov fired head coach Lionel Hollins and re-assigned GM Billy King, which means the billionaire has once again become impatient. The Bulls could try to take advantage of his desire to win as soon as possible, and try to sell him on a deal that packages Noah and Derrick Rose together, and either brings back Brook Lopez, or involves a third team interested in him.
Rose and Noah are both in decline, but they still have name value, which means a lot to Prokhorov. The move would be unwise by the Nets, but so was trading their future for Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.
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