Joakim Noah texted his new coach David Fizdale “congratulations” after he was hired by the New York Knicks, hoping for a new lease on life, but things might not turn out that way for the Hell's Kitchen native.
According to Marc Berman of The New York Post, Noah is likely to be stretched-and-waived by the Sept. 1 deadline, as waiting until that day would enable the franchise to maximize salary-cap savings while getting some relief from a $72 million deal stranglehold of their current salary cap situation.
While the optimal situation would be to trade him to another team (and hope still exists among Knicks brass), it is rather unlikely due to the number of injuries he's suffered over the past few years and the poor results he's provided while in a Knicks uniform.
A third option would be to actually play Noah, as crazy as that sounds — stranger things have happened.
The Knicks have two impending soon-to-be-free-agents in Kyle O'Quinn and Enes Kanter, who is expected to opt out of his deal in hopes of a long-term contract.
If both centers find themselves elsewhere in the offseason, it would leave the Knicks with 7-foot-1 Luke Kornet, who has a good showing this past season, likely giving Noah a bench role.
The jury on Noah is yet to be out, as Fizdale noted “the organization has to make the decision.’’
“He reached out to me and just congratulated me,’’ Fizdale said at Tuesday’s press conference. “I’m not putting a ceiling on anybody. Whoever is on our team in front of me is going to get my full attention to investment. He’s obviously given me fits from back in the days. I’ve got some Noah nightmares from when he was in Chicago, some of those wars. I’m not putting a cap on anybody.”
Follow Us
Subscribe