A new coach will not mean a second chance in New York for Joakim Noah.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ian Begley, the New York Knicks intend to use the NBA’s stretch-and-waive provision on Noah before Sept. 1, and the team has no plans to bring him back into the squad under new coach David Fizdale.
Noah has two years and nearly $38 million left on his deal, and the Knicks are waiting to release him because doing so after September will save the team $12.9 million toward the salary cap. Efforts to trade Noah have been unsuccessful, as the Knicks have been unwilling to sweeten the pot for other teams by adding quality draft picks or young talent to any package to unburden themselves of the contract.
Noah’s Knicks career essentially ended with a practice argument with then-coach Jeff Hornacek in February. Hornacek has since been fired, but that evidently won’t change the fact that Noah isn’t welcome around the team.
