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Recent reports claim that the Chicago Bulls have considered trading away center Joakim Noah in a multi-team deal that would bring Denver Nuggets star forward Carmelo Anthony back in return. My advise to Bulls general manager Gar Forman is straightforward: Don't do it.
Don't let Melo's star power and scoring ability blind you. Don't get me wrong; I think it is a great idea to go after the three-time NBA All-Star. But not at the expense of Joakim Noah.
Heading into this past summer, the biggest free agent-fest in NBA history, the Bulls had one objective. The Bulls wanted to bring in an elite scoring option to complement its young core of Derrick Rose and Noah. Rose is a franchise player at a position (point guard) that some would argue is the most important position on the court. And Noah is an energetic, selfless, defensive-minded player at another position (center) that would some argue is the most important position on the court. With the two most important positions in basketball locked up, the Bulls needed to focus on bringing in a dominant wing player to handle the scoring duties on a nightly basis. They certainly had plenty of options this off-season; Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Joe Johnson, to name a few. Well, we all know what happened with those guys. Wade and LeBron formed "Miami Thrice" with Chris Bosh down in South Beach and Joe Johnson resigned with the Atlanta Hawks.
The Bulls managed to buy some insurance by signing talented power forward Carlos Boozer and sharpshooting Ashton Kutch-I mean, Kyle Korver. Sorry, I confuse the two all the time. Those certainly are solid moves that make the Bulls an even bigger threat than they already are in the Eastern Conference. But they don't put the Bulls over the top. In other words, they are probably looking at a second round playoff exit. The fact is, as I pointed out in a previous post, an NBA team must have at least two no-brainer All-Stars on its team in order to win a championship. Rose earned his first All-Star appearance last season, but that was just the beginning. You figure the guy will be an All-Star for the next ten seasons, barring injury. Do the Bulls have a second? What about Carlos Boozer? It's possible, but not guaranteed or even reasonably expected. He certainly won't win the fan vote based on performance/likability. And while he will not have as stiff a competition as he had in the Western Conference, he still faces some young forwards who last season appeared to have arrived on the national scene (David Lee, Al Horford, and Gerald Wallace). Add to that trio Chris Bosh and I could see Boozer getting left out of the mix.
Enter Carmelo Anthony. He made his third All-Star appearance last season and put forth the best statistics of his career. He averaged over 28 points per game and added 6.6 rebounds as well. No NBA fan can deny that Melo is an elite scorer and someone who you want to give the ball to down the stretch. Sounds like the perfect fit for Chicago, but only if they add Melo to their core! Not if they break up the core by trading Noah away. How does that make sense? If we have learned anything throughout NBA history it is that you cannot build a championship team simply having a bunch of me-first scorers. You need "role" players. You need guys like Noah, who sacrifice their bodies for the greater good of the team. You need people content with getting only eight shots per game (Noah). You need people who can lead without scoring.
Of players who appeared in at least 60 games and averaged 25 minutes or more over those games, Joakim Noah ranked 5th in rebounds per 48 minutes with 17.6. Who ranked above Noah on that list? Only Kevin Love, Dwight Howard, Marcus Camby, and Samuel Dalembert, in that order.
Of players who appeared in at least 60 games and averaged 25 minutes or more over those games, Noah ranked 10th in blocks per 48 minutes with 2.49. In this particular category, he outperformed guys like Tim Duncan, Jermaine O'Neal, teammate Taj Gibson, Paul Gasol, Brook Lopez, and Chris Kaman.
Whether you like him or hate him, Noah is a legitimate building block at the center position. His back-to-back national championships at the college level is a glimpse at his winning intangibles. New Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau thinks Noah "has the ability to make other players better." Thibodeau said Noah's post defense is "terrific." He also sound his passing is underrated and he has the ability to lead behind the defense. Sounds like a prototypical center to me. Sure, you would like a center with a dominant sky hook and post-up game (Noah's offense is quickly improving), but it's not necessary to win. What is necessary, however, is a player of Noah's makeup down low. Look at the past champions and the players on their squads who fit that mold: 2008 Celtics (Kendrick Perkins), 2007 Spurs (Francisco Elson), and 2006 Heat (Udonis Haslem). The back-to-back champion Lakers had Ron Artest play that role because they had more offensive-minded big men in Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. But you get the point.
Although you may think guys like Noah can be found dime a dozen in the league, that simply is not true. I have heard people try to compare Noah to players like Marcin Gortat of the Magic and Louis Amundson of the Suns. Noah is way out of those two guys' leagues! Noah is a starting center in the league, not a bench guy that comes in once per half to give the starters a blow. He averaged over 30 minutes per game last season, and that number figures to rise this year. By comparison, Gortat played 13 minutes per game and Amundson fourteen. If you want realistic projections, you have to compare starting centers with other starting centers. And as I show above, Noah outperforms many of the players we consider good to great.
Now imagine if the Bulls went ahead and dealt Noah. Who would they have to fill that void? Boozer has not played much center in the past and certainly would be over-matched that position, especially defensively. Taj Gibson is skilled and has a lot of grit, but he is undersized to play center. And the veteran Kurt Thomas at this point in his career is not a starting center in the NBA. That leaves the Bulls with rookie Omer Asik from Turkey, a 7-footer whose talent is pretty raw and who has yet to play an NBA minute. You will not win a title with that front line.
From what I hear/read, it appears as though the Bulls have some flexibility with this deal. Initially the Nuggets thought about asking for Luol Deng, but his price tag is a bit too high for what you get. If the Bulls could work out a deal involving Deng and a few other pieces, excluding Noah, for Melo, then I think they should jump on it. But if Noah's name comes up during any discussion, the Bulls should nix it and move on unless they can poach a solid big man from another team.
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