The New York Knicks have been among the busiest teams in the league during this very young 2016 offseason, and they’ll be significantly improved for the 2016-2017 season because of it. They shed fringe pieces for a former MVP and a perennial All-Star (when healthy) in Derrick Rose, and Phil Jackson appears to be gunning for both Joakim Noah and Kevin Durant once free agency kicks off at midnight. The latter appears to be an unlikely signing at this point, but Joakim Noah appears to be, at least in principle, ready to come home to New York.
Noah, born and raised in New York City, has played for the Bulls his entire career, and won Defensive Player of the Year in 2014. However, injuries and the emergence of younger, more athletic big men in Chicago forced Noah to see limited minutes last season, but at just 31, still has a significant amount of basketball left in him.
Should he sign to New York, which The Washington Post says is “almost certainly” happening, Noah will be earning somewhere around $18 million a year. It’s a hefty price tag for someone believed to be past his prime, but, it’s New York. Guys tend to get overpaid in the big city.
For what it’s worth, however, there’s no telling what Noah is capable of with the right coaching when healthy. He’ll be reunited with Derrick Rose, and the two formed one of the more daunting 1-5 combos in the NBA for several years. Coupled with the offensive prowess of Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis, in just a couple of weeks, the Knicks might have gone from forgotten big-market team to a viable challenger to the Cavs reign in the Eastern Conference.
Noah has to sign on the dotted line first, though.
