Joakim Noah initiated the conversation with Fred Hoiberg that led to him coming off the bench in the final season of his contract with the Chicago Bulls.

"Jo actually came to me and talked to me about that," said Hoiberg. "He said, basically, 'I’ve always played well with Taj.' He said he thought Niko and Pau played very well together, so let’s go that route. It was actually Jo that started the whole conversation. He came to me. That says a lot about him."

Hoiberg was asked if was leaning toward starting Nikola Mirotic and Pau Gasol while Noah and Taj Gibson come off the bench.

I had thought a lot about a lot of different lineups. I hadn’t come to any type of conclusion. But it was great of Jo to just come and have that conversation."