NBA Trade Rumors: Chicago Bulls' Joakim Noah To Los Angeles Lakers Post Injury; Fred Hoiberg Not Giving Up

The Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly keeping a close on eye on Joakim Noah. Now that the DeMarcus cousins trade deal is seemingly off the table, sports analyst speculate that they may end up going for the Chicago Bulls center.

According to Movie News Guide, the LA Lakers were reportedly "struggling" now that Kobe Bryant is in his last season. The outlet pointed out that Noah's lackluster performance may just signal the end of his career with the Bulls. It also does not help that the NBA player recently suffered a small tear on his left shoulder. Noah had to take a few weeks off in order to heal, which definitely did not help his overall standing.

The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Noah, alongside Taj Gibson and Paul Gasol, may end up getting traded soon.

"Several sources indicated that the Bulls are taking calls on all three players as the trade deadline draws near."

The Chicago Bulls suffered three straight losses, with a 15-11 record, with many claiming that it had something to do with Jimmy Butler taking over the team. His contract has been extended for five years, worth a whopping $92.3 million.

Gasol, however, admitted that Butler could have taken the notch down a bit with all his comments on Fred Hoiberg. He said that although Butler's comments were somewhat warranted, he could have spoken to him privately.

Early this week, Noah made his first appearance post injury in the Chicago Bulls vs Washington Wizards game last Monday, January 11. Coming from rehab, his game was definitely less than stellar, which made trade rumors even louder.

Hoiberg, however, told the media to cut Noah some slack, adding that he showed significant improvement especially in the second part of the season.

"Sure, when you miss nine games you're going to have a little rust. Jo had some energy, he had nine rebounds, so it's out there. He got his feet wet," Hoiberg explained.