Joakim Noah Motivated By ‘Low Blow’ from Bulls Owner

Bulls team owner Jerry Reinsdorf recently said that Joakim Noah is no longer a “frontline guy”, something the Knicks’ free agent acquisition took offense to.

Reinsdorf made it clear Chicago had to move on from the big fella and point guard Derrick Rose.

New York inked the 31-year-old Noah to a four year, $72 million pact this summer.

Per the NY Post:

“He’s entitled to his opinion,” Noah said. “I feel I have no regrets about my time in Chicago. I gave it everything I had. To me that’s all that matters. I did everything I could for that organization. I thought it was a little bit of a low blow, but at the end of the day I have nothing but respect for that organization. I’m just excited for this new chapter of my career.”

 

Noah, the 2014 Defensive Player of the Year, is coming off a campaign in which he was limited to 29 games because of shoulder surgery. Two years ago, he played in 67 games, battling knee issues and plantar fasciitis, but says all his rehab has gotten him healthy for this season.

 

The Hell’s Kitchen product has gone through playoff wars against LeBron James — when James was with the Heat and in 2015 after he rejoined the Cavaliers — and knows he’ll have to go through the King again for the Knicks to be a title contender. The Knicks open the season in Cleveland on Oct. 25. […] “That’s the goal, that’s got to be the mindset,” Noah said. “We all know what it is. Right now it goes through him, through that guy to get where we want to get to. We got to beat them.”