The New York Knicks’ relationship with Joakim Noah has come to a close.
The Knicks released Noah, stretching the final year of his contract over three seasons through the 2020-21 season. The two sides have been negotiating a buyout of the $19 million of his 2019-20 salary remaining, but Noah and his representatives did not budge with no market for his services elsewhere around the NBA. The Knicks will pay the 33-year-old Noah $6.4 million per year over the three years. The move frees up approximately $13 million in cap space for the Knicks next summer when they hope to dive into the free agent market.
The waive and stretch provision with Noah will leave the Knicks a $6.4M annual cap hit for three seasons starting in 2019-20.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 13, 2018
While the end came Saturday, Noah never was close to the player the Knicks believed they were getting when former team president Phil Jackson signed him to a four-year, $72 million contract. While many NBA executives were puzzled at the deal at the time, Jackson said that Noah had convinced him the injury troubles that had diminished him from the player who was the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 2013-14 were a thing of the past. In case you was wondering if the Minnesota Timberwolves would be interested in adding Noah to the roster, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski is reporting there is no such intrest at the moment. Four of Noah’s former Bulls teammates are in Minnesota, along with his former head coach
Minnesota’s Tom Thibodeau has shown no interest in adding Joakim Noah to his collection of ex-Bulls, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 13, 2018