New York Knicks were trying to move on from center Joakim Noah for some time now, but they have failed to find a trade partner for the 33-year-old and his $19.3 million contract. Finally, the team stopped trying on Saturday and decided to waive Noah using the stretch provision.
By waiving Noah with a stretch provision, Knicks will stretch the $19.3 million salary cap hit for 2019-20 to $6.4 million. The downside of the move is that they will have a $6.4 million cap hit in the two seasons beyond that as well.
Reportedly, the New York Knicks have decided to move on from Joakim Noah’s contract earlier so they could pursue a max-contract player in the summer of 2019. With Noah out, Knicks will have $31 million in cap space next year but would have to make a few moves to get to $38.15 million annually, which is projected max salary for players with 10-plus years of service in the league.
The 2019 class of free agents is believed to be one of the most exciting ones in the last couple of years and will include Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Kyrie Irving, and Jimmy Butler.
Joakim Noah joined the Knicks in 2016, signing a four-year, $72 million contract. Noah, however, never managed to justify big money and went on to play 53 games for New York in two years, before being removed from the team after a conflict with coach Jeff Hornacek in February.
