Joakim Noah’s issues with the New York Knicks and head coach Jeff Hornacek are apparently beyond repair.
After leaving the team following a reported altercation with Hornacek, the 32-year-old center is now on the chopping block, so to speak, according to Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania:
After Joakim Noah was sent home because of a heated verbal exchange with coach Jeff Hornacek in practice last week, the New York Knicks are actively exploring avenues to part with Noah, league sources told Yahoo Sports.
Noah and Hornacek had a fiery exchange at practice the day after the 6-foot-11 center played only five minutes in the Knicks’ road loss to Golden State last Tuesday. It stopped short of turning physical, league sources said, but the organization and Noah agreed for him to leave the team as the Knicks finished the two games remaining on their seven-game road trip.
There’s uncertainty about whether Noah will rejoin the team in New York this week, league sources said. 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.
All of this is oddly worded, mostly because the Knicks don’t have multiple avenues available to get rid of Noah. They have one—or rather, two: buyout or the stretch provision.
Assuming Noah isn’t willing to take less than the $37.8 million he’s owed over the next two seasons in a buyout, the Knicks can waive him this summer and stretch that remaining money over five years, at roughly $7.6 million a pop. Though that’s far from ideal, they simply don’t have any other options. Teams won’t absorb Noah’s contract unless the Knicks are attaching splashy sweeteners such as Frank Ntilikina or this year’s first-round pick, and neither of those assets may be enough on their own.
Unless the front office is content to hamstring themselves for an even longer period of time, the Knicks should view themselves as stuck with Noah through at least next season, at which point he’d be an expiring contract and, in theory, easier to move.
