Center of Attention

3 years ago when Joakim Noah was winning National Championships and dancing like a dunce during post-game interviews at the University of Florida, you couldn't find anybody who appreciated his talents and considered themselves a Joakim Noah 'fan'. Since then, Joakim Noah has accumulated a marijuana possession ticket, an open alcohol fine, and a 7 and 7 PPG/RPG career average (no pun intended with the 7&7 and the open alcohol fine) and the Bulls are now unwilling to trade him for one of the most prodigious scorers in the NBA the last 5 years, and are surprisingly backed by tons of Bulls fans. Now, don't think I'm underestimating the importance of a 'good glue guy' (shout out Matt DeMars). Joakim is an asset for the Bulls in the defense and rebounding departments alike. His unmatched intensity and ongoing rivalry with LeBron is something the fans of Chicago have come to embrace. Chicagoans have gone from being disgruntled after drafting a gap-toothed, buffoon with 6 nationalities and an incredible knack for intangibles with the 9th overall pick, to holding onto Noah like he's their first born moving into a coed dorm.

Once again, I like what Noah brings to the Bulls. As a matter of fact, I simply like Noah in general. But, not including him in a trade for one of the elite scorers in the NBA and therefore nullifying the idea of landing Carmelo Anthony--now that's just ill-considered and imbecilic. Let's go over Joakim's numbers from his last 2 years in the NBA.

2008-09: 6.7 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 80 Games
2009-10: 10.7 PPG, 11.0 RPG, 64 Games

Now, some of you disciples of this pony-tailed prodigy might be saying, "but what about his playoff numbers?" What about them? Did they win either series? Nope. They sure didn't. The only thing with a lasting effect from either series were his comments made about Cleveland being a repugnant city that nobody enjoys--which were comments that I fully endorse.

On the other side of the fence sits Carmelo Anthony, a bonafide NBA megastar who averaged 28.2 points per game a season ago and could draw more of a crowd than a golfer with an arm growing out of his ass. It is only once in a while that you get someone with this much talent that wants to play in your city, and Paxson and Forman are letting the opportunity slip right through the vents in their upstairs Berto Center office. Maybe they turn out to be right to hold onto Joakim and he turns out to average 17 points and 18 boards next year like some Pau Gasol/Ben Wallace hybrid animal. But, just in case things don't turn out, here are a couple of guys with very similar stats to Noah that I wouldn't trade my North Face APEX jacket for.

Troy Murphy, 2009-10: 14.6 PPG, 10.2 RPG
Marc Gasol, 2009-10: 14.6 PPG, 9.3 RPG, and the same haircut as Russel Brand.
Samuel Dalembert, 2009-10: 8.1 PPG, 9.6 RPG

If you haven't figured it out yet, the center position in the NBA is the most dispensable position in the NBA. Yea, you need one, don't get me wrong. But, I feel like even if the Bulls lost Noah, they could gain a decent center back with one decent front office move or the development of a player that they already have. In part, I think the reason Paxson and Forman are holding onto Noah so forcibly is because they finally made a solid draft pick without having the #1 overall pick in front of them and are too stubborn to let him go. If they don't offer Noah and the trade talks die, the starting lineup of: Rose (tremendous creator, endless potential, All-Star), Brewer (rangy defender), Melo (incredible scorer, top 5 player in the NBA, All-Star), Boozer (solid back to the basket scorer, All-Star), Center X (you could seriously put Eric Montross in here, and the Bulls are fine) is all just...what might have been.

As for Pick of the Day, the Nationals managed to squeak by the Phillies last night in a game that had lower ratings than 'How I Met Your Mother' at 3 AM on WCIU. For tonight, the Pulse Man continues his "Bet Against Bush" campaign and likes the Mets over the Brewers in game 2 of the Milwaukee/New York Mets twin billing in NYC at (-152).

Pick of the Day: Brewers @ Mets- Mets-moneyline (-152)

Record: (22-14-0)