Joakim Noah is expected to return to the Chicago Bulls roster soon, but that could spur up more problems than good things if one considers the current state of the team.

After falling to a shoulder injury last Dec. 21 against the Brooklyn Nets, rookie Bobby Portis was called upon to step in place of the Bulls bruiser. Thus far, Portis has been exceptional and the team has been doing pretty well as pointed out by Hoops Habit.

With Noah out, the Bulls have won seven of their last 8 games and are comfortably sitting at the number two spot in the Eastern Conference standings behind the Cleveland Cavaliers.

So if the Bulls are doing so well, could they do better with a veteran like Noah back in action? Somehow, the answer to that will be divided, especially considering Noah hasn't exactly turned out an impressive season thus far.

Noah is believed to be struggling under the new system of first year head coach Fred Hoiberg and his presence hasn't been as solid compared to his years under former coach Tom Thibodeau. Although many feel Noah needs more time to adjust, it will be interesting to see if the Bulls would be patient enough to wait.

Portis has proven to be a better fit and now the trade rumor are starting to come into play yet again. This is not the first time that Noah has been subject of trade rumors per Fox Sports, something that cropped up earlier on in the season.

Noah and Taj Gibson are two of the Bulls who could be dealt, but seeing that Hoiberg is just in his first year somehow negates that belief. Hoiberg needs to prove his stuff first before the Bulls are to do some manpower changes so the best thing to expect right now is that Noah could see limited minutes.

The ploy could work in the early goings but the reality of it all is that the team needs to decide at some point if they will keep Noah or not. Same thing goes for his fellow bruiser, Taj Gibson.