It would be kind to describe Joakim Noah’s time in New York as tumultuous.
Now newly with the Memphis Grizzlies, the big man has opened up about what he thinks went wrong with the Knicks, and at least some of it has to do with enjoying the New York City night light a bit too much.
“I can look back on it and say I thought I was ready for New York City, and I wasn’t,” Noah said in an interview on the “Chris Vernon Show.” “It’s something I have to live with.
“I remember after the first game, I probably had, like, 60 people at my house. I’m lit. I’m too lit to play in New York City. Memphis is perfect for me. Chicago … we were lit in Chicago, but I was young. You recover faster, you know?”
The former Defensive Player of the Year with the Bulls came to the Knicks in 2016 on what is widely considered the worst contract of the Phil Jackson era.
His tenure was marked by poor performance, injuries, a drug suspension and locker-room strife. After signing a four-year, $72 million deal, Noah appeared in just 53 games across two seasons before he was waived by the new front office in October.
The low point probably came in January this year, when Noah and then-Knicks head coach Jeff Hornacek got into a heated argument in the locker room, ostensibly over Noah’s lack of playing time. Following that, Noah was sent away from the team, never to return.
“When I got kicked off the team, it was New York fashion week and I was getting a lot of money and I had no direction,” Noah said. “I really had to make a decision of how I wanted to live my life. If I kept going on the direction I was going in and stayed in New York, then I probably wouldn’t be here right now.
“Partying … yeah, I’m getting paid millions of dollars, and I have nothing to do, and I’m 32 years old. I had to lock in and set a routine for myself … ’cause partying and being an athlete, they don’t go hand in hand.”
The two-time All-Star said he set a routine for himself and stuck to it while he waited to see what would happen with his future.
With the Knicks, who will be paying Noah $18 million this season and $6.4 million each of the next three years, out of the picture, he signed for the veteran’s minimum in Memphis on Dec. 4.
He said the scrutiny of the New York media was difficult during his time with the Knicks, but he is just happy to be playing basketball again.
“I’ve lost my confidence in a real public way,” Noah said. “I failed a drug test, and I had to face New York media. I’ve faced some real s—t. I know a lot of people in my position would have said, ‘I don’t need this. I got paid. I’ve given a lot to this game,’ and walked away. I knew that I had more in me, and that’s why when I say I’m happy to be here, I know what I went through. To play in the NBA, it’s a blessing.”
It is apparently less of a blessing — the remaining $38 million on his deal notwithstanding — to play for the Knicks.
This story was originally published by NY Post
via USAHint.com
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