When Joakim Noah signed a four-year, $72 million contract with the Knicks before last season, his return to New York was heralded as a feel-good homecoming. Noah spoke often about growing up in Manhattan and his childhood allegiance to the blue and orange. His Garden introduction - "at 6-11, from Hell's Kitchen!" - cemented his standing as a bona fide New Yorker.
Less than two year later, though, Noah is no longer with the Knicks. His time in New York has been nothing short of a disaster. He's still on the roster, yes. But he's been exiled for close to a month after a practice altercation with Jeff Hornacek.
What once had the potential to be an ideal hometown marriage is now headed for an ugly divorce. And this, says Noah's former college teammate Al Horford, is a difficult reality to stomach.
"It's hard," Horford said before the Celtics and Knicks faced off at the Garden on Saturday night. "Because ever since I met him I've always known (about) him wanting to be a Knick and be here in New York. I feel like he's really an example of kind of what New York is. He really embraces that. And it was just tough for him not being able to play to his potential here and do the things he wanted to do."
Hornacek said earlier this week that he doesn't expect Noah to return to the Knicks this season.
At this point, the two sides are at a standstill. Noah's contract is so lucrative that he was untradable at the deadline. Now the only way Noah can find a new home is if the Knicks release him or agree to a buyout, and neither option seems likely to happen before the March 1 playoff roster-eligibility deadline.
If the Knicks agree to a buyout, they would want Noah to accept less money than he's owed over the remainder of his contract. Noah, from all indications, wouldn't sign off on that.
Joakim Noah's former college teammate Al Horford said the situation is a difficult reality to stomach.
(Michael Reaves/Getty Images)So Noah - who's only played in seven games after serving a PED suspension for the first month-plus of the season -is destined to spend the rest of this winter and spring watching instead of playing.
Horford believes that would be a shame.
"I think Joakim can help any team," said Horford, who won two NCAA titles with Noah at Florida in 2006 and 2007. "I know that he's had a rough patch with injuries and things like that, but when he's healthy, he's as good as they come. And just his presence on a team and what he brings defensively, he's just about the right things. So he's the kind of guy that you want to have around."
Noah hasn't commented publicly since his ousting, but he's informed friends and former teammates of his desire to play. At the All-Star Game in Los Angeles last week, Jimmy Butler said Noah "wants to play" and "wants to help win."
"Joakim is a great player," Horford said. "I still believe that he has a lot to offer to the team. He's a guy that you want to see him do well, and I just hope that things get worked out."