New York Knicks: Trade options never materialized for Joakim Noah

Before the New York Knicks waived and stretched Joakim Noah, an unsuccessful attempt was made to trade him.

The New York Knicks removed Joakim Noah from their roster via the waive-and-stretch provision. They failed to reach a buyout agreement since no teams were interested in the veteran center, so New York was forced to take a $6.4 million cap hit in each of 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22.

No trade seemed imminent, either, as the front office looked for this before the official waive of Noah’s contract.

For the reason why, general manager Scott Perry said they explored trade options, but the market was expensive. He reiterated president Steve Mills’ words on an unwillingness to move first round picks, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley:

Any potential suitor needed to take Noah’s $18.5 million in 2018-19 and an additional $19.3 million in 2019-20. Along with a history of injuries, a suspension and a public exile by the old coaching staff, it’s safe to assume his trade value was minimal at best.

For those with any desire to take this trade, New York needed to part with a first round pick, as Perry indicated. Whether teams wanted a protected pick, an unprotected selection or multiple first-rounders, the team stayed firm on their stance.

This resulted in similar fashion to Luol Deng’s departure from the Los Angeles Lakers. He too signed a lucrative four-year deal in the 2016 offseason, under different management, and barely played through the first half of it.

In September, the Lakers bought out Deng and stretched the final years of his contract, but with smaller annual payments over the next three seasons, due to a lower salary for 2019-20.

Given the end of Noah’s Knicks tenure, there appears to be no landing spot. Of course the situation can change, given the timing of the waive and stretch, since it happened as NBA teams finalized their rosters for the start of 2018-19.

Once injuries occur or teams choose to make adjustments to their 15-man group, it could open an opportunity for the 2013-14 Defensive Player of the Year.

Noah’s stint won’t garner any praise, after the former president of basketball operations, Phil Jackson, handed him $72 million to play in just 53 games and average 4.6 points and 7.9 rebounds.

However, this era is officially in the past. The Knicks removed a distraction from their roster, and it allowed them to focus on the players around for the 82-game season, rather than someone who was a nonfactor after the events of 2017-18.