NBA Trade Rumors: New York Knicks Looking to Part Ways With Center Joakim Noah
Joakim Noah has clearly overstayed his welcome in New York.
According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, the Knicks have stepped up efforts to trade Noah after he had a heated argument with head coach Jeff Hornacek in practice last week.
The incident took place a day after their 123–112 defeat at the hands of the Golden State Warriors. Noah played only five minutes in the road loss.
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"Sources said the Knicks have yet to broach a contract buyout with Noah, but that is an avenue the franchise could pursue should their aggressive trade searches fail," Charania said.
The Knicks should only consider buying out his contract as a last resort because Noah is still in the second year of a four-year, $72-million deal. Reports have also indicated that Noah is unwilling to give back a significant amount of money on his contract in a potential buyout.
For now, Knicks president Steve Mills and general manager Scott Perry will have to find a way to unload Noah's contract via a trade.
It is interesting to note that a lot of people actually questioned the wisdom of signing Noah to a hefty contract before the 2016–17 season because he has already shown signs of decline during his final seasons with the Chicago Bulls. This is just one of the many mistakes Phil Jackson made during his tenure as the leader of the Knicks front office.
Meanwhile, the New York Post's Marc Berman has reported that that the Knicks may not allow Noah to rejoin the team even if they fail to trade him.
"In fact, there's a growing sense in the organization — if they are unable to make a trade — to not bring Noah back at all, that the relationship is too badly damaged. The organization has had internal discussions about that possibility, but there are a lot of factors, including the Players Association's influence," Berman wrote in his report.
