Fred Hoiberg, it seems, is not afraid to bench Joakim Noah.
When the Chicago Bulls poached Hoiberg from Iowa State, we all knew the offense was going to change. Hoiberg incorporates more movement and a little more speed. There would be more shooting. A lot more shooting. The kind of shooting you can’t get by fielding a traditional frontcourt.
That has always been Hoiberg’s dilemma: What does he do with the Pau Gasol-Joakim Noah tandem? Does he bench one, even though that would mean two traditional bigs, Gasol or Noah plus Taj Gibson, would be stuck on the bench? Does he just start the two of them and try to stagger their minutes throughout the game? Does he adjust his offense or simply hope Pau’s jumper is falling like whoa?
Even if you thought Hoiberg would ever bench one of Gasol or Noah in favor of a more three-point-friendly Nikola Mirotic, you probably never thought that one would be Noah. He has started more than 99 percent of his games since 2010-11 and been the heart and soul of Chicago’s defense. He’s a two-time All-Star. He’s younger than Pau. No way, no how is he the one getting chained to the bench.
Apparently, though, he could be.
According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, while no official decision has been made, Hoiberg is currently favoring Mirotic as a starter over Noah:
Joakim Noah said not to judge his pairing with Pau Gasol off last season when he never fully regained the movement and intensity that defined his 2013-14 All-NBA season because of knee surgery.
But coach Fred Hoiberg may do so. In just the second exhibition in which both Noah and Gasol played, Noah came off the bench for the first time Tuesday night in the Bulls’ 103-94 victory over the Pacers.
While Hoiberg said he hasn’t decided who will start the Oct. 27 regular-season opener against the Cavaliers, sources said the first-year coach is leaning strongly toward starting Nikola Mirotic. The second-year forward certainly didn’t hurt his chances by scoring 11 of his 15 points in the first quarter and grabbing seven rebounds.
Welp.
Noah has always been a team-first guy, someone willing to go to war over a Derrick Rose insult or a loose ball. If there’s a star in his prime, albeit an injury-prone one, willing to come off the bench without making much of a fuss, it’s him. He could be this year’s Andre Iguodala.
But this is a contract year for Noah, and if he embraces his role as a reserve, the Bulls still risk bruising his ego, even if he doesn’t really express such emotion until next summer, when there are other teams courting him and dangling different contracts with the promise of more prominent roles.
At the same time, there’s also no denying the value of a one-in, four-out lineup within Hoiberg’s offensive schemes. Mirotic only shot 31.6 percent from deep as a rookie, but he has more range than Noah.
To that end, there is no easy answer here. A midseason trade involving one or two of Gasol, Gibson and Noah feels inevitable.
For now, we’re left to wonder whether Hoiberg is gutsy enough to demote a player in Noah who is but one season removed from MVP consideration.
