South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Sunday)
Knicks waive ex-Gator Noah
NEW YORK — 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 decided he wouldn’t rejoin the club under new coach David Fizdale but were hoping they could find a trade to get something back for him without having to cut him.
The New York native signed a four-year, $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, and was voted Defensive Player of the Year and firstteam All-NBA in 2014.
But Noah had begun battling injuries and already was in decline by the time former Knicks President Phil Jackson gave him four-year contract, and Noah could never regain his old form. His first season in New York ended early 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 after playing 4½ minutes in a road loss to the Warriors on Jan. 23.
Noah averaged 4.6 points and 7.9 rebounds in
53 games with the Knicks.