New York Knicks: Joakim Noah says he was ‘too lit’ to play in New York
Joakim Noah made interesting comments on his time with the New York Knicks.
Joakim Noah‘s stint with the New York Knicks unceremoniously ended in October, when the organization waived his $18.53 million salary for 2018-19 and stretched his remaining $19.29 million owed for 2019-20. This cleared a roster spot and allowed the team to move on.
On Dec. 4, after waiting two months, Noah signed a one-year deal for the minimum salary with the Memphis Grizzlies. He slid into a backup center role.
In an appearance on “The Chris Vernon Show,” Noah not only spoke on his time with the Grizzlies, but the reason everything did not happen as planned in New York: too much partying in the Big Apple.
“I’m too lit to play in New York City. I was too lit,” said Noah. “Memphis is perfect for me. Chicago was lit, too, but I was younger. You recover faster, you know?”
Noah explained some of his partying habits, including the 60 people that attended his house after his first Knicks game. That’s along with his mindset around the time of the veteran center’s team-imposed exile in January, which he never returned from. It allowed him to set a routine while not doing anything and receiving money.
New York was apparently too much for Noah, who’s now in Memphis, a lower profile city than the aforementioned one and Chicago, which he played in from 2007-16.
Noah left the Bulls for the Knicks after a myriad of injuries, including playing just 29 games in his final season with the former, starting two of them. Former president of basketball operations, Phil Jackson, despite this, handed him a four-year, $72 million contract, which proved disastrous over the next two seasons.
From more injuries to a suspension and the exile, Noah played just 53 games for the Knicks and averaged 4.6 points and 7.9 rebounds; significant drop-offs from his numbers in the Windy City. Only the first season was in Jackson’s tenure, before Steve Mills and Scott Perry took over the front office.
Noah has the chance to revitalize his career with the Grizzlies, who are 16-11 in the crowded Western Conference. It’s his closest situation yet to his prime in Chicago when those teams were consistently near the top of the East.
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Either way, Noah received a handsome payday for barely over half a season’s worth of games. He may have moved on, but this move of New York’s past set them back in payroll for 2019 and, with the stretch provision, until 2021-22.