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The New York Knicks failed to trade Joakim Noah and his burdensome contract away at the trade deadline earlier this month, but now they have another chance to shed his salary before March 1.
That's the deadline for players to get waived from a team in order to be eligible to play in the playoffs. Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek has made clear that Noah is not part of the future plans for the team, and has sat Noah for a large portion of the season.
There are a lot of factors at play, and plenty of ways Noah's situation could go, per Marc Berman of the New York Post.
The ideal situation is for the Knicks to trade Noah this summer and get back a less-burdensome contract. They tried and failed to do so at the Feb. 8 trade deadeline.
Draft night would be the next time the Knicks can feasibly trade Noah, but his value will continue at a low ebb if he can’t play.
One potential scenario is Knicks brass telling Noah to sit tight for this season and prepare for a 2018-19 return, with the chances of Hornacek returning slim.
There are teams out there that would like Noah on their rosters, per Berman.
Golden State has monitored Noah’s situation. One league personnel director said Noah makes sense for the Warriors, who have a habit of “collecting role-playing big men who defend and rebound.’’ Al Horford, his former Florida mate, said he’d love to have Noah on the Celtics and thinks he’ll be a good addition to a playoff team.
It's a tough situation for Noah right now, as he probably just wants to get out of exile in New York and play basketball. He turned 33 recently, and while he has not been the same since suffering some injuries a few years ago, there is still a chance he can contribute spot minutes on a contending team.
