Imagine Joakim Noah in a Minnesota Timberwolves jersey.
You can’t, right?
Well, new Timberwolves coach and president Tom Thibodeau already is, according to the Sporting News’ Mitch Lawrence:
League sources tell Sporting News that Thibodeau has targeted Joakim Noah, who is an unrestricted free agent and has interest in leaving Chicago and re-joining Thibodeau. When they were together in Chicago, Noah developed and thrived under Thibodeau, finishing fourth in the MVP voting in 2013-14.
Noah, who missed most of 2015-16 with the Chicago Bulls because of shoulder injuries, makes sense in Minnesota from a defensive standpoint. He is pure hustle on that side of the ball, and the Timberwolves, while already an efficient offensive team, don’t have much defensive fortitude aside from Karl-Anthony Towns and Kevin Garnett’s barking.
But 31-year-old Noah doesn’t make too much sense overall. Though the Timberwolves have cap space, they shouldn’t be funneling too much of that money into an aging big man who may only take minutes away from budding bigs on Minny’s roster, including Towns. And it’s unclear if, at this stage of his career, Noah is ready to play the discounted mentor role.
The Timberwolves, in all likelihood, will have to guarantee him one or the other, if not both—a handsome salary worthy of this summer’s cap boom, or a ton of playing time.
