Joakim Noah has been a member of the Chicago Bulls since he was drafted in 2007. For almost a decade, Noah called Chicago home and he was brought up alongside a man he calls his brother, Derrick Rose.
Throughout both of their tenures, both Rose and Noah battled coaches, injuries and scrutiny. Last season both men once again went up against critics and injury issues which all but spelled the end for both of their tenures in Chicago.
The Bulls moved on from Rose shortly before the start of free agency and that sparked something in Noah. It was that trade which ultimately made Noah decide he wanted to leave the Bulls and join the Knicks.
He talked to the media shortly after his introductory press conference and opened up on returning home.
I look at this as a very special opportunity. I’m not taking this opportunity for granted. This has been a dream of mine since I’m 5 years old. I was a fan of a lot of people who wore this jersey: Patrick Ewing, Charles Oakley, Chris Childs, Latrell Sprewell, Marcus Camby, Larry Johnson. I was in the Garden for all these guys. I was in the Garden when LJ hit the shot. I was in the Garden when Michael Jordan came back and gave us 55. This means everything to me. I’m going to do everything to make this special.”
Beyond his relationship to the city of New York, a city he says he’s very proud of, Noah opened up on Rose. He talked about how the Rose trade was the most important factor in his decision and how special it is to play with his brother.
“You don’t really hear too many situations where a center gets traded for a point guard, especially a point guard like Derrick Rose, who was a hometown favorite. I would have never thought that he would have left Chicago. It’s pretty amazing that he was the hometown guy showing me around and now he’s on my turf. I get to play with my brother. That’s very special.”
“This is my dream situation, this is where I wanted to be when I saw the Derrick Rose trade happened, and we were together [in the NYC clubs]. I was like: ‘Let’s make this happen,’ ” Noah said.
Joakim Noah wants to bounce back this season. He, just like fellow new Knicks signee Brandon Jennings, want to prove to the world that they aren’t injury prone. He knows he has something to show the world.
“Redemption is a powerful emotion. It’s a powerful thing. We can talk about these things all day. There’s no lie. Everybody knows there’s something special in that building, in that Garden. I’m just really proud to be able to … that jersey means everything to me and to be able to play in that building in front of my people means everything to me.”
Despite all the recent additions with the already talented two stars in Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, Noah has no clue how this team will gel. He has no clue what this season will produce and he knows that chemistry is so important to their success.
“I have no idea. I love the makeup, the characters Phil put together,’’ Noah said. “Now it’s on us to jell. Chemistry is everything. Everybody has to take their egos — and what they think it should look like — [and put it] aside. Make the right sacrifices to be the best team possible. That doesn’t always happen. There’s no place I’d rather find out.”
Joakim Noah, Brandon Jennings and Courtney Lee all opened up about the Knicks and their potential for future success.
