Joakim Noah Works on His Shot - With the Help of a Ping-Pong Paddle?

The Bulls coaches are trying to help Joakim Noah fix his unusual shot by using a device that resembles a ping-pong paddle. Noah was spotted wearing the device on his left hand while practicing some shots after the Bulls first day of training camp on Tuesday. The paddle-like device was built with the help of Chicago’s trainer Fred Tedeschi, and assistant coach Ron Adams says that the goal of using it is to prevent Noah from using his guide (left) hand to push the ball when shooting. “Once you’ve done something most of your entire life, you don’t shake it in a month or two. He’ll get there, though. His motivation is going to get him over the hump. He’s just a highly motivated guy. He wants to do well and wants his team to do well,” Adams says of Noah.

Although Noah is already a successful player, his shots tend to spin “like a planet” once released, rather than encompassing that perfect backspin upon the release. “It’s just to try to change my shot a little but, change my form,” Noah said of the ping-pong-like device on his left hand. It seems that the Bulls are pushing Noah to change his shot because they believe that the highly athletic and talented player will be able to offer more than he (or they) ever expected – they definitely have faith in his ability to be a huge contributor to the team.

Come see how Noah’s shot shapes up when you get your Chicago Bulls tickets at StubHub.com.

Ben’s Headband is Back

What’s the biggest item of discussion surrounding the Bulls this week? Headbands. Yep, that’s right – the headband conversation that sparked a great deal of controversy (and laughs) last season has finally been resolved. Bulls center Ben Wallace was benched twice during a game at New York last season for wearing his infamous elastic headband – a violation of team rules. Lucky for Wallace, he has been cleared to wear his signature headband on the court this season. Bulls coach Scott Skiles did make the exception solely for Wallace, although at this point there’s no word as to whether or not other Bulls players have requested to sport the Ben Wallace look.

The headband announcement came after a team meeting, of which Wallace said, “We sat down and talked about it. It doesn’t change my game one way or another.” Let’s hope not! Many sports commentators are predicting that the Bulls will make it to the Eastern Conference Finals this season, and it seems that at this point they are well on their way. Wallace celebrated his newfound stylish freedom by wearing a black headband at Monday’s annual media night at the Berto Center. Of the issue Wallace’s teammate Ben Gordon said jokingly, “Hopefully, that will translate into more blocked shots, more rebounds and more steals.”

See Wallace sport his signature style when you get your Chicago Bulls tickets at StubHub.com.

Are Extensions in the Works for Deng and Gordon?

There’s definitely talk of contract extensions in Chicago, especially considering that the Bulls’ top two players still aren’t signed to extensions with only a month to go before the team kicks off the 2007-2008 season on October 31st. The extension deadline is up the day the Bulls start the season at New Jersey and there’s talk that Luol Deng and Ben Gordon will seek out more than the $47.5 million, five-year extension that the Bulls gave Kirk Hinrich last year on deadline day. John Paxson, the Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations for the Bulls for the lat four years, discussed the extension issue recently, saying that he believes the team should get a salary discount in exchange for offering the players long-term security a year earlier than necessary.

According to press notes, Paxson had the following comments on the “business side” of the Bulls contract extensions. “If we sign these guys to an extension, and this season they go out and have some catastrophic injury, they’re still getting the money. I try to make it sound logical, but I don’t know if it comes across that way. It’s an extension; we feel like it’s the one time in a contract negotiation that, for the security they’re going to get, we should get something in return. That doesn’t mean that we’re not going to talk about a great contract, because we are. But what I’ve found and learned through Kirk’s deal last year is that we still have a month, which is a long time. When that deadline starts approaching, maybe something gets done.” It seems that Bulls fans will just have to wait and see what happens come October 31st.

Come see the Bulls start the upcoming season when you get your Chicago Bulls tickets at StubHub.com.