On the same day the Knicks introduced Joakim Noah in New York, the Bulls top executives Friday commented on his departure.
"He is loved by all in our organization and he will always be a Bull," Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf said.
As opposed to the seersucker suit he wore when the Bulls drafted him in 2007, Noah wore an open blue denim shirt over a white T-shirt and gray pants. But his colorful comments travel everywhere.
In comments to reporters in New York, Noah related an amusing anecdote about spontaneously visiting Phil Jackson at his offseason home in Montana without advance warning. Noah said Jackson, who wasn't the Knicks' president at the time, asked him why he was there.
"I don't know," replied Noah, who proceeded to stay three days.
Noah has endured left knee surgery in May 2014 and season-ending shoulder surgery in January 2016. He signed a four-year deal with the Knicks and understands there will be questions about his health.
"Nobody cares more about this (expletive) than I do," Noah said.
Noah also admitted he wouldn't have considered the Knicks in free agency if the Bulls hadn't traded close friend Derrick Rose there first. Multiple league sources indicated the Lakers planned to show interest in Noah, and their signing of Timofey Mozgov would support that.
The Bulls also planned to reach out to Noah in free agency before landing Robin Lopez in the Rose trade. Instead, they issued powerful statements on his impact on the franchise.
