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Chicago Bulls: Where are they now – Joakim Noah

By Luke Askew

NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Joakim Noah #13 of the New York Knicks cheers on teammates during the game against the Washington Wizards on October 13, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 13: Joakim Noah #13 of the New York Knicks cheers on teammates during the game against the Washington Wizards on October 13, 2017 at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2017 NBAE (Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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August is a great time to reminisce about former Chicago Bulls fan favorites. Let’s take a moment to talk about Joakim Noah and where he’s at now.

Joakim Noah was a fan favorite during his nine-season run with the Chicago Bulls. Well, he was a Bulls fan favorite. Other NBA fans didn’t seem to like him very much. But that’s part of the beauty that the Bulls found in Joakim Noah. He’s very similar to Draymond Green in that “you love to play with him – not against him” type of way.

Noah, like Green, always found a way to make an impact on the game even if he didn’t stuff the stat sheet. He could score 8 points and still be the most important player on any given night.

Joakim Noah was drafted by the Bulls with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft after a successful college career at the University of Florida. He ended up being a 2x All-Star, a 3-time All-Defensive Player and the Defensive Player of the Year. He even finished fourth overall in the 2013-14 NBA MVP race behind Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Blake Griffin. I feel it’s also important to mention that he finished ahead of guys like James Harden, Stephen Curry and Chris Paul.

Unfortunately, things in the basketball world haven’t been as good for Noah recently.

In 2016, the New York Knicks signed Joakim Noah to a 4-year, $72 million deal. Knicks fans are still feeling the effects of that one. Yes, he had a phenomenal run with the Bulls a few years prior to the signing but he was coming off of a rough two-year stretch where he rarely saw the court. This wasn’t the Knicks best move. It might even go down as one of their worst.

The Knicks weren’t getting the 2014 All-NBA first team version of Joakim Noah, they were getting a completely different version – a version you wouldn’t want to lock down for 4-years, $72 million.

Noah isn’t likely to be a Knick going into the 2018-19 NBA season. Who knows how the Knicks will shed his contract, but I’m assuming they’ll find a way. I hope this isn’t the end of Noah’s career, though. His time with the Knicks was horrendous, but that’s for Knicks fans to worry about, not Bulls fans.

Bulls fans can have the luxury of taking nights like these to remember the wonderful energy that Joakim Noah brought to the United Center. He had a lot of injury problems but he always gave the Bulls everything he had. It didn’t matter if it was the regular season or the playoffs – if Noah was going down, he was going down swinging.

Next. Ronnie Brewer talked about his time with the Chicago Bulls. dark

Whether it was his tornado-like jumper, his intense yelling or his man-bun flopping all over the place, he never went unnoticed. We miss you, Joakim.

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