The New York Knicks have reached an agreement on a four-year deal with former Chicago Bull Joakim Noah.
The mass exodus from the Windy City continues.
Last week, Derrick Rose was traded to the New York Knicks. That was followed by reserve guard E’Twaun Moore signing a four-year deal with the New Orleans Pelicans.
Now, as expected, the Knicks and Joakim Noah have reached an agreement on a four-year, $72 million deal, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
Knicks and Joakim Noah have officially agreed on a 4 year $72 million deal after meeting in Orlando tonight https://t.co/zqauJFWmOC
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) July 2, 2016
Noah was the ninth overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls and he has spent every year of his career with that organization. During his first two seasons, Noah didn’t make a huge impact, as he averaged 6.6 and 6.7 points per game, respectively.
Over the next five years, however, Noah averaged a double-double and had his best season in 2013-14. During that memorable season, Noah posted career highs in points (12.6), rebounds (11.3) and assists per game (5.4).
Not only that, despite the absence of the team’s two best players — Rose (season-ending knee injury) and Luol Deng (traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers midseason) — Noah and the Bulls finished that season winning 34 of their remaining 48 games, and secured the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference.
It should also be noted that Noah won Defensive Player of the Year and finished fourth in MVP voting. Unfortunately, things took a bad turn for Noah and the Bulls during that offseason in which he had knee surgery.
Still feeling with the effects of the surgery, Noah struggled to regain his form the following season to say the least, as he averaged 7.2 points and 9.6 rebounds per contest. Even more important, the high-energy center wasn’t playing with the same fire and passion that endeared him to so many Bulls fans throughout the city.
On the heels of that disappointing season, Noah was hoping to have a bounce-back season in 2015-16. Sadly, that would not be the case.
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Even before the season began, first-year coach Fred Hoiberg relegated the Bulls center to the bench. This would mark the first time that Noah wasn’t in the starting lineup since the halfway point of his second year in the league.
Although Noah continued to display a team-first attitude, he was obviously bothered by the decision, thus putting an immediate strain on the relationship between himself and Hoiberg. In addition to that, Noah sustained two shoulder injuries that limited him to just 29 games, and as a result of those injuries, he posted career lows in scoring (4.3 points per game), field goal percentage (38.3 percent) and free throw shooting (48.9 percent).
Following a season in which the Bulls missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years, it was reported by Chicago Sun Times’ Joe Cowley that Noah was fed up with management and that he no longer felt that the organization was heading in the right direction.
That, along with the fact that Rose expressed interest in playing alongside Noah once again during his introductory press conference, it is hardly surprising that Noah was eager to sign with and play for the team in city he grew up in.
For Noah, this move is a no-brainer because the Knicks are willing to pay near top dollar for his services in spite of his last two injury-plagued seasons in Chicago. Secondly, there is an irony here because the trio of Carmelo Anthony, Rose and Noah would have been in the starting lineup together in Chicago had Anthony opted to join the Bulls back in 2014.
Funny how things work out sometimes.
From a pessimistic point of view, the Knicks are potentially taking a gamble on a player who is considered past his prime, and like Rose and Anthony, has undergone knee surgery in recent years.
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On the flip side of the equation, the Knicks appear to be in win-now mode and had their sights set on Noah after shipping out Robin Lopez in the five-player trade with the Bulls. If Noah is able to recapture some of the form that we saw two years ago, this could turn out well for a Knicks team that has missed the playoffs the last three seasons.