Joakim Noah excited about Chicago Bulls’ offseason
After the Chicago Bulls missed out on Carmelo Anthony, who re-signed with the New York Knicks, they turned their attention to Los Angeles Lakers’ big man Pau Gasol, signing him to a three-year, $22 million deal and Real Madrid forward Nikola Mirotić, who they inked to a three-year, $17 million deal. The Bulls re-signed point guard Kirk Hinrich and added veteran point guard Aaron Brooks. They also traded the rights to their 16th and 19th-overall selections for the rights to the 11th-overall pick, former Creighton Blue Jays’ forward Doug McDermott.
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Although Bulls’ center Joakim Noah recruited Anthony to the Bulls, he is happy with the Bulls’ offseason.
“I’m really excited,” Noah said of the Bulls on Friday via Scott Powers of ESPN Chicago. “I think Gar [Forman] and [John Paxson] and everybody did a real good job. I’m really, really excited about the Bulls. It just makes you want to work hard and be as ready as possible for the upcoming season.”
He is especially excited about playing with Gasol.
“I think it’s going to be great,” Noah said. “Pau is someone who is very, very smart. I think his father was a doctor. Someone who comes with a lot of experience. Not just a great player, but somebody who cares about the community as well. I’m excited to see him help us as well to try to slow down the violence and help the kids out here in Chicago. Somebody who is also very humbling to play with, somebody who has won championships and with his pedigree somebody I can really learn from.”
Noah averaged 12.6 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 47.5% from the field and 73.7% from the charity stripe last season.