Bulls' Joakim Noah undergoes arthroscopic knee surgery, will be out 8-12 weeks

Joakim Noah was awarded the Defensive Player of the Year for the 2013-'14 season. (Ned Dishman/National Basketball/Getty Images)

Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah had minor arthroscopic knee surgery on Friday, the team has announced.

The Defensive Player of the Year first mentioned that he was having trouble with his left knee after the Bulls were eliminated from the playoffs on Tuesday. He told Nick Friedell of ESPNChicago.com, that he planned to have it looked at by team staff.

"My knee is bothering me," Noah said. "My left knee. I'm not sure what it is, but I was able to play today. I think I was limited a little bit. But it's no excuses. I'll check it out, find out what's wrong, take care of it. Now we got a lot of time to take care of it."

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Coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters that the knee began to be an issue in the second half of the season.

Noah will require eight-to-twelve weeks of rehab on the knee, and is not expected to miss any time at the beginning of the next season.

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