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LeBron James Thinks Joakim Noah Would Be a Lovable Teammate

By Dave Daniels

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Could LeBron James and Joakim Noah ever be teammates in the future? It seems like a ridiculous question to ask at first, especially when you think about Noah’s words in the past about the city of Cleveland; however, there is something about this concept that seems vaguely possible to me.

In the event that the Chicago Bulls decide to let Noah walk (God forbid) in 2016 free agency, wouldn’t joining the Cleveland Cavaliers be a path for the center to lengthen his championship window as a player?

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We all know how important winning is to Noah, and even though he would never willingly leave Chicago and his brothers Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson, the business side of the NBA can be a cruel mistress. One thing is clear in my argument: LeBron would not complain about having Noah on his side.

“A guy that you hate to compete against but if he’s your teammate you love him,” James said to Yahoo Sports. “He’s one of their glue guys. He plays well, they play well. His energy, his effort, he’s a guy that you as a fan love to watch him, as a competitor you hate him.”

There is so much respect imbued in this statement that I can’t help but think of it as a possibility if the Bulls decide that Noah’s fragile knee is too big of a gamble to drop big money on. Assuming Kevin Love decides to remain in Cleveland (which is no guarantee) longterm, the Cavs would have to clear cap room in the summer of 2016 to add Noah, but I would not rule it out. The center could basically be an overqualified version of Anderson Varejao, and we all know what James thinks about that mad man.

Moving on to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, Love (shoulder surgery) and J.R. Smith (two-game suspension) will both be out of the starting lineup, and this is a prime opportunity for the Bulls to jump on a weakened opponent. The Cavs are claiming that that they have no weaknesses on Monday night, but that is simply not true.

“Nah, we’re not vulnerable at all,” James said. “It’s just basketball. You go out and play, you try to win and give it your best shot.”

LeBron and Kyrie Irving in particular will bring their best game to the table without a doubt, but do they have enough depth to keep up with the Bulls? If Chicago plays to their full potential on Monday, then there should be no contest. The problem is that the Bulls have been inconsistent throughout this season, and hopefully that issue does not rear its ugly head at this inopportune moment. In any case, we can expect Noah and James to get a little chippy in this series, because they are both competitors who will do anything to win. That is a reason they might one day be teammates.

Next: 5 Reason Derrick Rose Put Game 4 Loss on Himself

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