Joakim Noah, formerly of the New York Knicks, has drawn interest from the Memphis Grizzlies, according to The New York Times.
The New York Knicks ended their two-year relationship with Joakim Noah in October, using the waive-and-stretch provision to officially remove him from the roster. His $18.5 million remains on the 2018-19 salary cap, but so does $6.43 million in each of 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22.
When the Knicks waived Noah, there were no interested suitors, so he didn’t take the buyout. Well, that changed Monday.
According to Marc Stein of The New York Times, the Memphis Grizzlies have been in “extensive discussions” to sign Noah in recent days.
Noah would join one of the NBA’s top defensive teams — the area he thrived in from 2007-16 with the Chicago Bulls. The Grizzlies are also in the top eight of the Western Conference as this season’s early surprise.
The 33-year-old offers depth behind Marc Gasol and Jaren Jackson Jr., pending this transaction happens.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were once interested in Noah to further the “TimberBulls” mantra under head coach Tom Thibodeau, which Stein previously reported.
The Knicks signed Noah in 2016 to a four-year, $72 million contract under the president of basketball operations, Phil Jackson. It went south fast, due to injuries, a suspension and a public exile by former head coach Jeff Hornacek.
Noah wasn’t brought to media day or training camp in September, when the Knicks were trying to part ways with the embattled big man. It took until the end of the preseason to waive him.
Without Noah, the Knicks already utilized Enes Kanter as a main frontcourt piece in 2017-18 and the same in 2018-19. Mitchell Robinson was added to this group in the 2018 NBA Draft and appears to be the center of the future.
So, the two-time collegiate national champion’s presence has not been missed, nor needed on this rebuilding squad, if the Knicks were to ever rekindle the situation when he still had a contract.
Aside from this, it’s a clearer distance between the Knicks and Noah, who can move to another situation and potentially succeed. Their joint era didn’t work, but it’s still possible for the former defensive player of the year to find what made himself valuable to a playoff team.