The New York Knicks will waive and stretch the remainder of Joakim Noah’s contract, but the beleaguered big man does not have many options.
The Joakim Noah era is officially over. The New York Knicks waive Joakim Noah per to official team release. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Ian Begley, the mercurial big man does not have any options on the horizon so he was unwilling to agree to a buyout. As a result, the Knicks will waive and stretch the deal — something that was expected.
This separation was a long time coming for both sides. Phil Jackson was in charge when Joakim Noah signed a four-year, $72.5 million deal. In his two seasons with New York, Noah only played in 53 games due to injuries, suspension, poor play, and an altercation with former head coach Jeff Hornacek that eventually led to Noah’s exile.
Needless to say, the Knicks will be happy to be rid of Noah. Waiving and stretching his deal is a smart move that will help preserve the Knicks cap space for the upcoming summer. The Knicks will pay his entire $18.5 million this year. But by stretching the contract, Noah’s cap hit drops to $6.4 million through the 2021-2022 season.
It’s not an ideal situation, but this is the front office making the best out of a bad contract. The team needed to make a move to clear the roster spot. Noah Vonleh played his way on to the roster and parting ways with Noah allows the Knicks to keep Vonleh.
Additionally, the Knicks plan to use Allonzo Trier’s 45 days of service in the NBA before converting his two-way contract to an NBA contract. The team will be forced to make another tough decision at that point.
In addition to Noah, The Knicks also waive Kadeem Allen and Jeff Coby.