NY Knicks: A lineup of the worst players from the 2010s
Worst Knicks of the 2010s: Joakim Noah, Center
You knew this one was coming. The gift that keeps giving: Joakim Noah. After signing a four-year, $72 million contract to join Phil Jackson in New York, Noah played only 53 games for the Knicks before the team stretched the remaining two years on his contract to open up cap space they never ended up needing. And Noah still counts as $6.4 million against the Knicks books.
The former All-Star was banished from the team after an altercation with coach Jeff Hornacek over playing time during the 2017-18 season. He appeared in seven games that season, attempting ten shots.
While many Knicks fans first-guessed this signing when it happened, it’s still hard to believe how spectacularly bad it turned out to be. If anything, Noah was supposed to be a veteran player who set an example for the young players, but even that came under question when he admittedly had trouble dealing with playing around the distractions in New York.
Phil Jackson is sometimes unfairly criticized for his management of the Knicks roster, but signing Noah past his prime to a $72 million contract was clearly his worst mistake.