Mobile Menu
HEADLINES

Joakim Noah Away From Knicks Until Further Notice

February 2nd 2018 at 11:02am CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 2, 11:02am: The Knicks have confirmed that Noah will remain away from the team “until further notice,” tweets Berman. The club referred to it as a mutual decision.

JANUARY 31, 11:28pm: The Knicks and Noah’s reps discussed his status on Wednesday, and the team won’t require him to report back before next Thursday’s trade deadline, says ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

New York’s front office continues to exhaust trade options for Noah, but the club is unwilling to attach valuable draft picks or young players to the center’s contract to attract interest, per Woj. If that stance doesn’t change, it’s hard to imagine the Knicks finding a taker, unless they’re willing to absorb another bad contract or two.

JANUARY 31, 8:45am: Joakim Noah remains away from the Knicks this week, and there’s a growing sense that he may not return to the club until after the February 8 trade deadline, if at all, according to reports from ESPN’s Ian Begley and Marc Berman of The New York Post.

As we’ve previously detailed, reported altercations between Noah and head coach Jeff Hornacek over the big man’s playing time led to the Knicks sending him away for what the team referred to as “personal reasons.” During Noah’s absence, New York’s front office has increased its efforts to find a trade partner willing to take on his sizable contract. The 32-year-old was previously expected to report back to the club later this week, but the fact that now he may not return before the deadline suggests those trade efforts are ongoing.

According to Berman, teams have been open to acquiring Noah if the Knicks include their 2018 first-rounder in a deal, but New York has been unwilling to put that pick on the table. If that stance doesn’t change and the team can’t find a suitable deal for Noah before the deadline, it’s unclear what the next steps are for the team and the player.

As Begley observes, it may not be productive to bring back a disgruntled, little-used veteran at a time when the Knicks are trying to build a positive culture and develop their young players. However, as both Berman and Begley note, the Knicks’ non-trade options for Noah are very limited.

Buyout discussions haven’t taken place, and the veteran center wouldn’t be eager to give back a significant chunk of money in a buyout anyway. Waiving Noah and stretching the final two years of his contract over five seasons is one possibility, but it would have a major impact on the Knicks’ salary cap projections through 2022/23, as we detailed last month. Cutting Noah outright and leaving his cap hits as is would also be an option for the team, albeit not a particularly appealing one.

Retweet 11 Share 0 Send via email0
View Comments (34)