When the Chicago Bulls drafted Joakim Noah, I thought it was a good pick. He wasn’t gonna solve their low post scoring problems, but he’s a winner. I thought he would add energy and excitement to the team, and he has, just not the kind I was expecting.

Falling to 14-22 and hardly competitive, several Bulls players on the bench late seemed relatively indifferent to the result. It was perhaps a worse message than the events of the evening, which were discouraging as well.

Apparently it led to a dispute in the locker room as rookie Joakim Noah complained about the attitude on the bench and argued with veteran Ben Wallace. One witness said Luol Deng had to step between them to ease the tension.

What the hell is going on in Chicago? Just the other day the team voted to sit Noah down, now he’s the only guy that cares about winning. That’s probably the overall problem. Joakim Noah is a winner born and bred. A tennis champion father, model mother, multiple national titles don’t allow Noah to be complacent. He might be going about things the wrong way, but butting heads with Ben Wallace doesn’t make Joakim a bad guy. I’m not going as far as saying Ben Wallace should be benched for the season, but his attitude and contract are bigger problems for the Chicago Bulls than Joakim Noah will ever be.

Struggles-and apparently strife-continue for Bulls. Courtesy of The Chicago Tribune

Tags: Joakim Noah, Ben Wallace, Chicago Bulls, NBA