Somehow it seems natural to write this: Joakim Noah’s role with the Chicago Bulls may be affected because of an intervention from the circus.

Every year, The Ringling Bros. Circus books Chicago’s United Center for nine days, sending the Bulls on the road for what’s become known as the “circus trip.” Last year, the Bulls were 2-7 on the trek. In the 10 years since Michael Jordan left town, the team is 6-52 on the annual November trip.

“That thing is just brutal,” Noah said about the trip prior to a game in Orlando earlier this month. “No fun at all.”

Noah was in the starting lineup when the team started the circus trip in Los Angeles against the Lakers Tuesday, but he didn’t last long. Three minutes into the game, 7-footer Aaron Gray entered for the former Gator, who had already logged two fouls. Noah entered for one more minute later in the quarter and saw no more action for the rest of the half.

He played a few minutes in the third quarter, and returned in the final minutes of the game. After the Bulls had trimmed the Lakers lead to 10, Noah let L.A. center Andrew Bynum slip right past him on a fast break for a wide-open dunk. Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro called a timeout following the play and angrily pointed Noah toward the bench, yelling something that I’m sure I couldn’t repeat in this blog.

Noah finished with two points and five rebounds in 10 minutes of the 116-109 loss.

The spotty minutes have become common for Noah. After entering the starting lineup last week against the Hawks, Noah hasn’t seen more than eight minutes of playing time to start a game before taking to the bench, typically for the rest of the half.

Ask some who covers the Bulls for a living, and you’ll get varied reasons why. Some say he’s just not in shape, some say he doesn’t care and others say he’s just not a fit for the pro game.

He entered the starting lineup because forward Drew Gooden was out with a sprained ankle. Gooden tweaked the ankle again in the team’s final practice before the road trip, but still logged 19 minutes against the Lakers.

If Gooden is able to continue on the trip, it leaves one open position to split between Noah and Gray. Gray, the former Pitt Panther, played better against Lakers center Andrew Bynum (11 points, five rebounds, 21 minutes), and Noah finished with as more fouls (3) than points (2).

The rest of the trip won’t get easier. The team travels from L.A. to Portland to take on Greg Oden and the Trail Blazers Wednesday. Before the trip ends on Nov. 30, the Bulls face Golden State, Denver, Utah, San Antonio and Philadelphia.

Noah and Gray are adamant that they’re great friends off of the court, and when I spoke to them in Orlando, they both said that there’s no competition going between them. It’s hard to imagine, though, that Noah is OK with yielding his starting role to a player taken 40 picks after he was nabbed with the No. 9 choice in the NBA draft in 2007.

The gap in draft position hasn’t translated to a gap in production. Through 10 games, Noah is averaging 3.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game in 17.4 minutes. Gray isn’t far behind with his 2.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 11.7 minutes.

It’s no secret that the Bulls are thin in the front court, and teams have exploited their lack of size through the first month of the season. Del Negro is looking for one of his big men to step up so the team can either settle with a starter or find a capable replacement.

If Noah isn’t the guy for the job, I hear the circus may be hiring.