Rumored Milwaukee Bucks Target Joakim Noah Looking For More Than Just Money

If Joakim Noah‘s rumored price made him seem like an unrealistic free agent target for the Milwaukee Bucks, his reported list of priorities this summer could put them back in play.

With the dramatically rising cap dominating all of the discussion in the run up to free agency, the figures that players are getting linked with seem to be becoming increasingly absurd with each passing day.

With all 30 teams having the luxury of improved flexibility at their disposal, the market projects to be ultra competitive, and as such even for players below the top tier of free agents, experts are expecting prices to be inflated.

One problem with many of the rumors at present though could be the assumption that every player on the open market will be pursuing money over all else this summer. That hasn’t always been the case in the past, so with discounted contracts now richer than ever before, why would that change now?

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One such player who doesn’t seem to be set to put the size of his salary above everything else this summer is long time Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah.

As we spoke about recently, Noah has been linked with the Bucks among other teams this summer, as Sporting News’ Mitch Lawrence suggested Noah would field “substantial” offers from Milwaukee, Washington, New York and Minnesota.

With the Bucks having to guard against tying themselves up with veterans to the point that they have no money left to retain their young core, many Bucks fans balked at the suggested $28 million per year price tag that Lawrence had proposed, and ruled Noah out of their plans.

That may have been premature though, as a report from Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun Times suggests Noah has a list of priorities extending far beyond the financials of any deal.

"“First and foremost, Noah wants a chance to win. Followed closely by a chance to start, as well as finish games, and also a team that will continue to get behind his Noah’s Arc Foundation.While several on the outside have speculated that Noah would simply go for the money, the source called that “naïve.’’‘They obviously don’t know Jo’s make-up,’ the source said.”"

Considering the shape of the roster and the struggles the team had with Greg Monroe holding down the center spot, it seems like Noah would definitely get a chance to start and finish games as the man in the middle for the Bucks.

Although the Bucks aren’t an instant title contender, as none of the other teams so far linked with Noah have been, with some wise free agent acquisitions they should be in position to make a strong push towards the playoffs again next season. Being the voice of experience for an extremely talented young team could appeal to Noah’s leadership sensibilities.

On top of that, the Bucks have many players on their roster who are actively engaged with work for their own charities and foundations, along with work for plenty of others in the state of Wisconsin. It would be difficult to see the Bucks having any trouble in being active supporters of Noah’s Arc.

All of this suggests that if the Bucks are genuinely interested in Noah’s services, there’s a path to potentially convincing him to sign in Milwaukee.

In Lawrence’s original Sporting News piece, he highlighted Jason Kidd as a particular fan of what Noah could bring to his team.

"“Noah also has a big fan in Jason Kidd, who has soured on Greg Monroe, only one season into a deal that has two seasons to run. The Bucks tried to trade him in recent days, but the Celtics and other teams had no interest.Kidd has told associates he thinks Noah’s toughness and experience will greatly help his young rising stars, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jabari Parker. He’ll have to convince Noah, though, that he can be happy relocating to a small market.The Bucks are looking to bounce back from a disastrous season after they made the playoffs in 2015. As Kidd sees it, Noah’s addition would be perfect as the Bucks try to live up to their “Own the Future’’ marketing campaign.”"

There’s still a few days to go before discussions could begin, but in the meantime, if the Bucks want to make a real push at Noah, they may need to resolve some other questions first. Most notably, Greg Monroe’s future would be put into sharp focus by the acquisition of a center of Noah’s caliber.

Next: Milwaukee Bucks Rumors: Is Matthew Dellavedova A Free Agent Target?

Whether Noah would be prepared to take enough of a discount to make it worth Milwaukee’s while remains to be seen, but at the very least, a deal with the big man can’t be ruled out just yet.