When Fred Hoiberg took the Chicago Bulls head coaching job in June, he was inheriting a roster that had championship expectations. That represents its own set of challenges for a first-time NBA coach.But with a roster as deep as this one comes another challenge, and how he manages this one will determine a lot about the Bulls fortunes this season.The Bulls have a lot of frontcourt players who needand deserveheavy minutes. A few of them are heavily decorated veterans who arent used to making sacrifices, and their livelihoods depend on how the minutes and rotations shake out.Joakim Noah is in an unenviable position with the Bulls. Hes just one year removed from being named Defensive Player of the Year, but he's also coming off a 2014-15 season hampered by offseason knee surgery. Hes in a contract year, and his new coachs philosophy is centered around tempo and spacing, which heavily favors Pau Gasol and Nikola Mirotic.So thats the starting frontcourt combination Hoiberg has gone with in the Bulls first two games of the season, and it leaves Noahwith all he has on the line and all hes done for this organizationbeing asked to take a bench role and be happy about it.He insists that it wasnt a tough sell for Hoiberg.He didnt have to sell me anything, Noah said at shootaround on Tuesday morning before the Bulls season-opening win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. I want to win, and I think this makes our team better. We have a lot of talent in the front, and sacrifices must be made sometimes. I think this gives us the best chance for our team.In a Q&A with Grantlands Zach Lowe this week, Hoiberg implied that coming off the bench was actually Noahs idea. Noah disputed this version of events, reiterating that he simply wanted to do what was best for the team.The truth is, I think Im more effective playing the 5, Noah said in Detroit on Friday, per the Chicago Tribunes K.C. Johnson. And Pau is the same. And we have two very good 4s. So this makes sense.Gasol and Noah were always an awkward fit with each other last season, something Hoiberg has all but admitted through the rotations hes been playing. They were on the floor together for four minutes in the opener against the Cavs and not at all in Wednesdays win over the Brooklyn Nets.Both are starting-caliber playersas are Mirotic and Taj Gibsonand Hoiberg still hasn't found minutes for rookie and preseason standout Bobby Portis.Only two can start and only two can close games. Keeping everybody happy is going to be a challenge.Under Tom Thibodeau, everyones roles were well-defined. For the first four years, Carlos Boozer would start alongside Noah and then sit the entire fourth quarter in favor of Gibson for defensive purposes. Last season, with Boozer gone and Gasol having a much stronger case to play at the end of games, the job of juggling these roles was still made easier by Noahs training-staff-imposed minutes restrictions.Now, with everybody fully healthy, things get a little murkier. Noah will be a free agent this summer, and given his health history, he could lose some money on the open market if he comes off the bench all year.If hes not thrilled about this, its more than understandable.Under Hoiberg, everybody is still figuring out their roles. After sticking mostly to the Gasol/Mirotic and Gibson/Noah pairings in preseason, he has thrown out big-man combinations seemingly at random over the first two games of the season. Everything is going to be trial-and-error in the short term.If Noah wants a model for how to handle this new role, he has one in his own locker room.Gibson, a talented and versatile two-way power forward who doesnt shy away from thankless dirty work, is good enough to start on many teams around the league. But hes accepted his bench role willingly and without complaining for as long as hes been in Chicago.Hes definitely sacrificed a lot for this organization, Noah said of Gibson. Theres no question about that. Hes a helluva talent, but for us to get to where we want to get to, everybody is going to have to play well and were going to have to jell fast, so Im excited for the opportunity.Having too much depth is a good problem, especially with the injury histories of these Bulls.Health and rest will inevitably make some decisions for Hoiberg. Its a long season, and everyone will get their chance.For now, though, this is a time of transition and feeling out new roles. It wont always be comfortable or ideal, but in the process of the Hoiberg Bulls discovering who they are and how they can succeed, everybody is going to have to make sacrifices.Sean Highkin covers the Chicago Bulls for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
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