NBA rumor: Knicks looking to get rid of Joakim Noah

It seems as if Joakim Noah’s days with the New York Knick are numbered, which could, in an ironic way, push him to retirement.

Joakim Noah’s days in Gotham seems to be numbered.

It really shouldn’t come as a shock to anyone that the New York Knicks are looking to rid themselves of a former asset that has now turned into an anchor. According to Reuters, the Knicks front office is looking to use a little-known provision known as “waive-and-stretch” to part ways with Noah.

“Waive-and-stretch” is a provision that would allow a team to cut a player (the waive) and then stretch out the remaining years of his contract (the stretch part), as so the remaining salary of a player won’t hit a team’s cap room too hard and allow it some flexibility. This provision is equally important to teams like the Knicks, who are in the beginning stages of what will be a painful rebuild in New York.

In reality, Noah was long shown the door at Madison Square Garden.

After getting into a verbal spat with former head coach Jeff Hornaceck in January during practice, the Knicks basically told the volatile Noah that he wasn’t welcome back to the team. There were some rumblings that new coach David Fizdale would “try” to talk to Noah to see if there was a way to bring him back into the fold.

But Knicks management has all but made it crystal clear that they want Noah gone, and the “waive-and-stretch” option would be their best method of kicking Noah to the curb once and for all.

Noah has long been one of the best defensive power forwards in the NBA, but his skills have clearly diminished and are no longer a fit for today’s league, and this may very well be the last hurrah for Noah.