New York Knicks fans do not exactly have much love for Joakim Noah, and they showed their displeasure with the Memphis Grizzlies big man during their meeting at Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon, serenading him with boos when he entered the game:
Joakim gets showered with boos in his return to The Garden
Reminder: Knicks owe him $37M pic.twitter.com/Rq2s15AJeH
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 3, 2019
The Knicks signed Noah to an infamous four-year, $72 million contract during the summer of 2016, a move by Phil Jackson that drew instant criticism from fans and media pundits alike.
Had New York signed Noah to that deal in, say, 2013, it would have been a different story, but Noah was clearly on the decline by the time the Knicks gave him all of that money.
As expected, the signing proved disastrous for the Knicks, as Noah played in just 46 games during his first season, averaging five points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists over 22.1 minutes per game. He was suspended for 20 games in March 2017 after violating the league's anti-drug policy, a ban that carried over into the following season.
Noah then played in just seven games during the 2017-18 campaign before being exiled by the team in January.
He was eventually released via the stretch provision this past October, meaning the New York still owes him the rest of his contract, but is able to spread it out.
The Grizzlies then proceeded to sign Noah in early December.
Going into Sunday, the 33-year-old was averaging 4.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.3 assists across 13.2 minutes a night while making 47.8 percent of his field-goal attempts.
Noah spent the first nine years of his career with the Chicago Bulls, where he made two All-Star teams and earned a Defensive Player of the Year award in 2014.
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