New York Knicks Joakim Noah Apologizes For Failed Test
New York Knicks center Joakim Noah issued an apology following practice on Tuesday.
New York Knicks center Joakim Noah was suspended by the NBA for violating the league’s anti-drug policy. Noah was handed a 20-game suspension because of a banned substance in an over-the-counter supplement that he was taking.
He has not yet begun serving the suspension. Noah underwent knee surgery on February 27th and was expected to miss the remainder of the season; he has not appeared in a game since February 4th.
Until he is cleared to return to the court, the suspension will not begin. Noah is hoping to get cleared for Wednesday’s game against the Miami Heat; that would mean he would miss 12 games to begin the 2017-18 season. He needs to be cleared by an independent doctor; Knicks doctors already cleared Noah to return.
Noah returned to practice with the Knicks on Tuesday. He apologized to the organization, his teammates, and the fans after practice.
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"“I made a mistake. It was a tough year for me, for this team,” Noah said after returning to practice Tuesday. “… I let a lot of people down. It was a mistake. And I gotta learn from it and bounce back. This is a tough moment and I’m going to learn from it.”"
ESPN New York’s Ian Begley said that Noah’s positive test was triggered by selective androgen receptor modulator LGD-4033, a banned substance under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement.
Noah added that the supplement did not come from the Knicks; he was trying to help him find something to recover from the injuries he was suffering from.
"“I tried to take a supplement to help me with everything that I was going through,” Noah said, intimating that he took it while rehabbing from a hamstring injury he suffered in early February. “I’ve gone through a lot of injuries and I tried to take something to help me and it backfired.“So I know it didn’t come from a bad place. I was working with the league on this for a while. I think that what I got punished for — 20 games — is severe, but it is what it is, and I’ve got to bounce back.”"
It has been a disastrous first season in New York for Noah. He has battled injuries throughout, and the suspension is the latest setback. Noah played in only 46 games, averaging 5.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.8 blocks, and 0.7 steals in 22.1 minutes per game.
Noah signed a four-year, $72 million deal with the Knicks in the offseason. They were hoping that signing, coupled with the trade for Derrick Rose, would help push them into the postseason. They will come up woefully short of that goal, as the Knicks are on the fast track to a top-five pick.
It will be interesting to see what the Knicks do with Noah. They were already planning on him taking a lesser role next season; the Knicks reportedly were viewing Noah as a backup player next season even before the season-ending injury and suspension.
It is easy to see why the Knicks would believe that. Willy Hernangomez has emerged as the season has gone on and Kyle O’Quinn is as good as they come on a per-minute basis. With plans to use Kristaps Porzingis more at center and Carmelo Anthony at power forward, there aren’t many minutes available for Noah.
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One thing we know for sure is that we will not see Noah back on the court in a Knicks uniform until mid-November at the earliest as he will begin serving his suspension in the coming days or at the start of the 2017-18 season.