NBA Free Agency: Joakim Noah, Knicks discussing four-year deal
The New York Knicks are possibly going to be giving Joakim Noah a ton of money.
The Knicks have had an active NBA offseason. They traded Robin Lopez, Jerian Grant, and Jose Calderon for Derrick Rose, who will fill a much-needed point guard role for them.
However, this left a gaping hole at center for the Knicks. They had been connected to Joakim Noah for the past few days, and according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, the two sides are talking a deal of around four years, $70-plus million.
Vertical Sources: Joakim Noah and the New York Knicks are in discussions on the framework of a deal in range of four years, $70M-plus.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2016
This is a huge deal for Noah, who is coming off an injury-riddled season with the Bulls. He averaged just 4.3 PPG and 8.8 RPG in 29 games played. He also fell out of favor with the Chicago coaching staff.
Noah had been in decline before that, seeing his PPG and RPG decrease over the previous few seasons. Injuries also began for the former Florida Gator in 2014-15, and if it continues in 2016-17, then his production could continue to decline.
As for Joakim Noah’s contract numbers, a four-year, $70 million deal would give him a minimum of $17.5 million per year. It’s going to set the precedent for this year’s market, especially for players like Al Horford and Dwight Howard. If Noah is going to get that much annually, then how far could teams go to pay Horford and Howard?
For more NBA free agency news, please check out our NBA free agency category page.