Sad news: one of the all-time team favorites of the Knicks has formally announced terminating his contract as a result of…
Not everyone was thrilled with the New York Knicks’ 2016 four-year, $72 million deal offer to Joakim Noah. For a player who had averaged 4.2 points the season before, it seemed excessive. Things fell apart fast, with verbal altercations and injuries labeling Noah as “the worst signing in franchise history.”
history of injuries
Noah was a defensive mainstay with the Chicago Bulls before donning the Knicks uniform, and he was named Defensive Player of the Year in 2014. Additionally, he played a significant role in the Bulls’ 2011 Playoff success, which saw them advance to the Eastern Conference Finals.
With a shoulder injury in the 2015–16 season, Noah was only able to play in 29 games. Under the leadership of Phil Jackson, the team president at the time, the Knicks considered Noah’s injury to be unimportant and made him an offer for a big salary.
However, as fate (or poor planning) would have it, Noah had surgery to repair a knee injury. He received a 20-game, non-paying suspension for breaking the league’s anti-drug policy while he was in treatment. Noah then needed to have his rotator cuff repaired by a needle.