Is it the shoes?
In Joakim Noah’s case, yes.
Or maybe. He sure thinks so.
According to a TMZ Sports report, Noah sued his former shoe sponsor in November, claiming it gipped him of money and aided in the progression of his plantar fasciitis:
NBA superstar Joakim Noah has sued his former shoe sponsor — claiming Le Coq Sportif makes TERRIBLE SNEAKERS that may have damaged his feet … TMZ Sports has learned.
Noah quietly declared war on the French company in a D.C. court back in November … claiming LCS signed him to a 6-year $6 million deal back in 2007, only to screw him out of more than $1.65 million.In the suit, Noah says he was pumped about the deal at first — but shortly after he signed, LCS shut down its U.S. offices, fired the guy who signed Noah, and started looking for ways to back out of the deal. Noah claims things came to a head in 2013 when they suddenly stopped paying him money he believed they were obligated to pay.
Noah says despite the negative energy, he held up his end of the bargain — and wore Le Coq shoes in every NBA game he played even though he claims they were “not well designed and likely contributed to [my] development of plantar fasciitis.”
Noah says his medical condition likely linked to the crappy shoes “caused him to miss several games during the 2012-13 Chicago Bulls NBA season, including key games in the NBA playoffs.”
Le Coq filed a counterclaim against Noah — but it appears the two sides were able to strike a settlement because they suddenly dropped their cases against each other just last month.
If Noah is correct—and I tend to believe every single word that comes out of his mouth is true—then that sucks.
The ponytailed wonder’s plantar fasciitis gave him issues all last season. There were times when I was watching him and wondered how he was walking, let alone playing basketball on one of the most physical teams in the NBA. Not only that, he was averaging over 36 minutes per game, which is absurd considering what he was going through at the time.
All appeared to be well with him this year at least. Noah missed only two games, averaged 35.3 minutes per night and earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. His Chicago Bulls trail the Washington Wizards 2-0 in their first-round playoff series, but hey, at least he has his health.
And apparently some money.
But not that much money.
Six years and $6 million seems awfully low. Was that a lot of money in 2007? Asking for a friend here.
Of course, Noah wasn’t the All-Star or outside MVP candidate then that he is now. Given his limited offensive skill set, I’m not sure people thought he would develop into the more complete player that he is today.
It all ended well for Noah, though. Those sumbitches over at Le Coq Sportif may have screwed him out of some key appearances last season, but he’s with Adidas now, earning more money, courtesy of his elevated profile.
How much more exactly? Color me not sure again. Couldn’t find the details. But you can bet on it being way more.
Damian Lillard more?
Slow down, kids.
Lillard’s deal could be worth up to $100 million over the next 10 years if all the incentives are met. Aside from hoping Adidas gets more bang for their buck with him than they have Derrick Rose ($185 million), it’s clear Noah isn’t reeling in that much. But it’s definitely, definitely, definitely more than he was making before. It has to be.
Plus, money shouldn’t matter to him at this point.
You cannot put a price on the safety of one’s feet.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His work can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com.
