Knicks give the heave-Jo

Joakim Noah’s disappointing Knicks career is over after just two seasons.

Unable to find a trade partner, the Knicks waived the 33-year-old center Saturday with two years and $37.8 million remaining on his contract.

Noah, who played the first nine years of his career for the Bulls, had been away from the Knicks since clashing with former coach Jeff Hornacek last season, when he appeared in just seven games. The Knicks had already decided he wouldn’t rejoin the club under new coach David Fizdale but were hoping they could find a long-shot trade.

The New York native signed a fouryear, $72 million free-agent deal with his hometown team in 2016 and drew a loud ovation in his first appearance at Madison Square Garden, where he was introduced as being from the Hell’s Kitchen section of the city rather than from Florida, the team he helped win two NCAA championships.

The Bulls selected him with the ninth pick in the 2007 draft. He had great years with the Bulls, highlighted by being voted Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-NBA in 2014.

But Noah had begun battling injuries and was in decline by the time former Knicks President Phil Jackson gave him fa our-year contract, and Noah could never regain his old form. His first season in New York ended when the NBA suspended him for 20 games in March 2017 for a failed drug test, a suspension that carried into the 2017-18 season. He was unable to regain his rotation spot once he was eligible to return and didn’t play again following his argument with Hornacek.

Noah averaged 4.6 points and 7.9 rebounds in 53 games with the Knicks. His $18.6 million salary for this season will count fully against the salary cap, and the Knicks can stretch out the remainder of his salary over multiple seasons. As a result, they are adding almost $13 million in cap space for the summer of 2019. They’ll be paying Noah $6.4 million annually until 2022.

— Associated Press