Free agent center Joakim Noah has been among several NBA players still looking for a roster spot in an otherwise dry offseason market. The former Defensive Player of the Year had a nice stint to close out the year with the Memphis Grizzlies, but remains unemployed, now drawing some advice from NFL Hall of Famer Terrell Owens, who had to take whatever job was available as his career wound down.
“I told him about the end of my career when I was with Dallas and looking to sign with another team and Buffalo came to the table,” Owens said, according to Arash Markazi of The Los Angeles Times. “That’s not the most desirable place to play football, but I didn’t allow that environment or what people said about it to deter me from going there. [Noah] might have a chance to go to Detroit, which isn’t a desirable destination, but I said ‘be a bright spot in a not so great environment.' It doesn’t matter. Just rededicate yourself and be the best basketball player you can be.”
Despite coming off three straight 1,000-plus-yard seasons with the Dallas Cowboys and 38 touchdowns during his three-year stint in Big D; Owens was short of offers as the 2009 season was bound to start. He received a call from the Buffalo Bills and signed on the dotted line, despite having played for three storied franchises like the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, and the Cowboys during his career.
Owens didn't have the best of seasons in Buffalo, racking up only five touchdowns and 829 receiving yards, the worst since his injury-riddled 2005 season with the Eagles. Yet he had the longest catch of his career, a 98-yard reception that would be forever engraved in his resume.
Noah has nowhere near the resume Owens has to draw a perfect parallel, but he is in need of a job and will need to take whatever offer comes his way if he hopes to stick around the league.
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