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New York Knicks: 2016 Offseason Grades

By Gerald Bourguet

Mar 24, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) shoots the ball past New York Knicks center Robin Lopez (8) during second half at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks won 106-94. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 24, 2016; New York, NY, USA; Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose (1) shoots the ball past New York Knicks center Robin Lopez (8) during second half at Madison Square Garden. The Knicks won 106-94. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports /
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Dec 19, 2015; New York, NY, USA; Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah (13) and New York Knicks forward Kristaps Porzingis (6) battle for a rebound during the first half at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Noah K. Murray-USA TODAY Sports /

Signing Noah

If anyone had doubts that the Derrick Rose trade signaled Jackson’s commitment to winning now, the Joakim Noah signing confirmed it.

With Noah coming off a 2015-16 campaign where he averaged a career-low 4.3 points per game on 38.3 percent shooting and was limited to 29 games due to injuries, however, Jackson signing him to a four-year, $72 million deal was the free agency equivalent of a 2 a.m. “U up?” text.

To be fair, it was only two years ago that Noah won the Defensive Player of the Year Award and finished fourth in MVP voting, averaging 12.6 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.5 blocks and 1.2 steals per game while carrying the Bulls to 48 wins — despite Rose’s absence and a trade that shipped away Luol Deng.

But Noah hasn’t looked like that guy in quite some time, missing 15 games in 2014-15 before his injury-riddled season last year. He’ll hold his own on the glass, and perhaps his mediocrity last season amounted to playing through injury for a coach who moved him to bench duty, but $18 million a year for the next four years is a risky proposition nonetheless.

Noah has shot only 45.2 percent from the restricted area over the last two years, a terrible percentage for any big man. He’s been injury-prone and his play on both ends of the floor has declined in each of the last two seasons, making this four-year deal that much more concerning for a 31-year-old seven-footer.

Furthermore, there should be concerns about how Noah and Kristaps Porzingis will fit alongside each other in the frontcourt. KP’s natural position for the future is the 5, which puts more pressure on him to knock down threes as a stretch-4 to make sure New York’s offense has enough space to operate.

Noah could shut a lot of people up in 2016-17, and perhaps a change of scenery will do him wonders after struggling to fit in with Fred Holberg’s system. But recreating the 2011 Chicago Bulls — five years later — on such massive deals is a worrisome gamble at best.

Grade: C-

Next: Adding Lee

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