Ex-Bulls star Joakim Noah was once the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year. As a strong and powerful force in the middle, Noah made up for some of his flaws with expert-level hustle.
He also had a tendency to trash talk the opposition, including the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Back in 2010, he made the following comment about the city of Cleveland that is making its round on the internet today:
“It’s pretty depressing out here, man. It’s bad. No going out in Cleveland, man.”
He doubled down on his stance later, during a post-game press conference.
“I mean, I never heard anybody say, ‘ I’m going to Cleveland on vacation.’ What’s so good about Cleveland?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vpr_KaaRjW0
When it comes to the NBA landscape, Cleveland is probably one of the least desirable cities to play, and it’s why the Cabs have always struggled to attract premium free agents to the franchise. Had it not been because LeBron James was born in the area (Akron, Ohio), not even he would have joined.
Still, the Cavs deserve credit for building something special. Today, their current young core is looking to be one o the best in the league, and they made some big strides last season after making the 6th seed in the East.
Young stud Darius Garland believes even more success is coming:
“I think we can get even better,” he said. “I think we can make it to the Eastern Conference Finals next year for sure. We’re coming back with a chip on our shoulder. … We’re a young team. Like you said, we battled through a lot of adversity this season. So, it was cool just being there, but we not satisfied. We all in. We all ready to rock and roll.”
So while Joakim Noah may not be a fan of Cleveland, Darius Garland likes it well enough so far — and that’s really all that matters for the fans.
If they can take another step up as a team next season, it will do a lot to change the situation for the team.
