Could D-League's Courtney Sims Be Possible Joakim Noah Replacement?

Filed under: Bulls, NBA D-League, Iowa Energy

Courtney Sims has been one of the best big men in the NBA D-League this season, averaging 18.8 points and 8.9 rebounds per game, while playing for the Chicago Bulls-affiliated Iowa Energy.

Those numbers don't stand out quite as much as the 22.8 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks Sims averaged on his way to earning D-League MVP honors during the 2008-09 season, but he's still widely regarded as the top NBA prospect at the center position. That fact becomes particularly important after the recent news that Joakim Noah, standout center for the Chicago Bulls, could miss up to 10 weeks after undergoing thumb surgery Thursday, which is a long enough time that the Bulls might look into possibly acquiring another player to replace the double-double machine until he's healthy.

"We'll continue to look at it," Bulls general manager Gar Forman told ESPN Chicago on Thursday. "We've already talked some about the possibility of looking into either a trade or picking somebody up, but at this point, we'll go with what we have."

Forman's answer indicates that signing someone today probably is not in the works, but if Sims continues to standout with the Bulls' D-League affiliate, there's little doubt he'd be on the short list of candidates to try and fill Noah's big shoes.

"Courtney is obviously one of the premier big men in our league," Nick Nurse, Sims' head coach with the Iowa Energy, told FanHouse Thursday. "I think true big men that can really score down there are a rare commodity around the world and his biggest strength is he can really score the ball. He's really got good determination. He's got the ability, he's got the touch, he's got those -- and several other -- attributes that enable him to be such a high scorer."

 

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Source: http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/12/16/could-d-leagues-courtney-sims-be-possible-joakim-noah-replaceme/

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