Joakim Noah is reportedly looking to go home. The center who played nine seasons with the Chicago Bulls isn't going to re-sign there. He's over that. And if you're hoping to sign him this summer, you better hope you can convince him your team resides in New York City. Luckily for the New York Knicks, they do reside in New York City.
After trading for Derrick Rose, they're already looking to reunite Noah with his former point guard. Marc Stein of ESPN is reporting that many interested teams around the NBA are feeling like they won't be able to convince Noah to sign with them. The Knicks are going to be heavy favorites to bring Noah back to his hometown, and they may be his only choice.
Have heard the same lament from multiple interested teams tonight: They see New York as a big favorite to land Joakim Noah in free agency.
-- Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 30, 2016
The phrasing tends to be the same from every team we ask with Joakim Noah interest: We don't have a chance because the Knicks are his choice
-- Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 30, 2016
Tim Bontemps of the Washington Post is reporting the same thing with Noah and the Knicks, but he adds in Noah's salary with the Knicks starting "somewhere in the $18 million per year range."
Multiple sources have told The Washington Post that Noah will almost certainly be joining the New York Knicks after free agency begins, with a starting salary somewhere in the $18 million per year range.
This is a pretty interesting signing for the Knicks if this goes through and actually happens. They have about $35 million to spend, so this would take up half of it. They'd still have some decent money to play around with in adding another wing to round out the starting lineup. A core of Rose, Carmelo Anthony, Kristaps Porzingis and Noah would be formidable of healthy. But Rose and Noah have had real health concerns as of late.
Noah was the Defensive Player of the Year in 2014 but played just 96 games in the two seasons since. He played just 29 games in 2015-16 and was removed from the starting lineup by Fred Hoiberg to jump-start the offense.
Funny enough, Anthony decided against signing with the Bulls a couple of years ago when Phil Jackson and the Knicks committed a big five-year deal to keep him. Now he's playing with two of those Bulls players he was going to join. We'll know it's real if Luol Deng decides to sign with the Knicks to complete the team-up.
