Following the Memphis Grizzlies' win over the New York Knicks on Sunday afternoon, Grizzlies big man Joakim Noah admitted that he could have handled his situation in New York better, particularly with former Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek.
Last February in Denver, Joakim Noah got into an altercation with Jeff Hornacek that reportedly turned physical, with Hornacek shoving the big man before the two men were separated.
Noah is taking responsibility for what happened:
Article Continues Below“Things escalated. They should never escalate like that between a coach and player,” said Noah, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. “I'm not going to throw Jeff under the bus. I'm not going to talk (expletive) about Steve (Mills). I know what I could have done better. Ten things went wrong that day.”
The 33-year-old played 16 minutes in his return to Madison Square Garden on Sunday, finishing with four points. The center was booed the second he entered the game, as Knicks fans still have vivid memories of the four-year, $72 million contract the franchise gave Noah during the summer of 2017.
The contract proved utterly disastrous for New York, as Noah played in just 53 games over his first two seasons — which included a 20-game suspension for violating the league's drug policy –before being exiled from the team last winter.
The Knicks then utilized the stretch provision to release Noah this past October. New York still owes Noah $37 million.
Noah spent the first nine years of his career with the Chicago Bulls before signing with the Knicks.