Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah admitted that he did not expect he will play a limited role for his team this season after the Bulls opted to part ways with former coach Tom Thibodeau and hired Fred Hoiberg.

Noah, who has spent his entire nine-year career in Chicago, was recently mentioned in numerous trade rumors after he was removed from the starting lineup. The former Florida standout has started in 333 of their last 335 regular-season games before the 2015-16 NBA season.

Noah told Chicago Tribune that he is staying positive and focused on helping his team, but the 30-year-old former All-Star could not hide his frustration.

"I don't know what to say. I wasn't expecting to play such a limited role," Noah said. "I'm trying to stay focused on what I can do to help. That's it. It's not about complaining. It's about trying to find solutions. I want to be part of solutions and try to help figure it out."

Noah has played 27 games this season, where he logged 21.9 minutes per game. The do-it-all center has not averaged less than 30 minutes of playing time since his sophomore season in 2009.

The New York native said he has no problem playing less minutes this season compared to last year, but he expected that he will finish games for the Bulls. But despite having a limited role, Noah is not planning to ask for a trade.

"I want to play all the time. I think any competitor does. I've said that all along," Noah said. "But this won't change my commitment to the team. I've never been about anything but winning and the team."

Meanwhile, Bulls starting point guard Derrick Rose could miss their upcoming game against the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday after sustaining a left patellar tendonitis during their 106-101 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday.

Rose, who is averaging 14.7 points on top of 4.9 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game this season, will not undergo MRI. The 27-year-old, who tore his ACL in his left knee in 2012, said that he thinks the injury is not too serious.

"I'm not concerned," Rose said of his injury via ESPN. "I'm not concerned but just trying to be smart. Coming into this year, I was trying to play in consistent games, see how many games I could play this entire year, and go from there."