Money Doesn't Make the Man

Денг Гордон · Oct 3, 2008

Joakim Noah has never been the sort of guy to water things down for the media, and he didn't disappoint this time around when the questions came out about Luol Deng's new contract and whether or not his new high price tag makes him the unofficial leader of the team.

"He's somebody that really wants to win," Noah grins recently at training camp, "He leads by example. But it's not his contract that makes him a leader. People in the media say that because he's making the bucks that he should be leader, but that's not how I see it."

On some level, Noah has a point, but when a player is thrown almost $12 million a season it becomes clear that the organization expects him to step up and take over his team. There's a reason why Chicago gave that money to Deng and not Ben Gordon; they believe that Deng is The Man.

Deng himself understands what those dollars mean. "I've got to be a leader now not only the court, but I've got to be more vocal. But I'm looking forward to it. Signing that new contract, the team is showing that they've put their trust in me, and I'm looking forward to stepping into that role."

His teammates know someone needs to take over that role, including Deng's backup at the small forward position Andres Nocioni, who adds, "Last year we had a problem with leadership, so we need that… [Deng] is a really nice guy, a great personality on the court, and off the court he's right now the best guy to put everybody together… He's going to be the leader of this team."

Some guys, however, admit that the money doesn't guarantee that Deng is the new leader of this team. You can't just appoint a general and expect everyone to respect him. That general has to put in time, prove he's worth respecting, and only then can he properly lead his troops.

Third-year guard Thabo Sefolosha knows the process might be harder than some people expect. "Nothing will be given to him," Sefolosha says. "Everyone knows he got a big contract, but he's going to have to show everybody that he's the leader. Nobody on the team is just going to accept that just because of the money. He's going to have to show that he wants that position and wants to lead this team. But if he wants to do that, obviously we're all going to be happy to follow, and I think he'd be happy to do it."
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http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=10165

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Money Doesn't Make the Man

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