New York Knicks: Joakim Noah situation can be traced back to Phil Jackson

The difficulty of the situation between the New York Knicks and Joakim Noah can be traced back to Phil Jackson.

The New York Knicks have a problem with this Joakim Noah situation. We all know the deal by now. Noah saw his playing time decrease and it led to a confrontation with head coach Jeff Hornacek. Noah has not been with the team since as both sides seek a way to get away from each other. The Knicks reportedly will even add a first round draft pick to the deal if it will succeed in getting rid of Noah.

Now, the team has announced that per a mutual agreement, Joakim Noah is on an indefinitely leave from the franchise. He will not return until further notice, which presumably means he will not return unless a suitor cannot be found for a trade. In other words, Noah will be gone for good unless the Knicks are stuck.

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The trouble is that the Knicks might very well be stuck. Finding a deal for Noah has been tough for the Knicks, as league sources are reporting (via ESPN). Even sweetening the pot has not been successful in pushing trade talks.

There is someone who deserves blame for that piece of the puzzle. His name is Phil Jackson. He sure did leave his legacy on this team, didn’t he? It’s not so easy without Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen.

But back to the Knicks. Prior to the 2016-2017 season, Jackson signed him to a free agent deal for four years in the amount of $72 million. First of all he was 31 years old, and any athlete that is 30+ is prepping for downside of the career, not the upside.

He thought he was bringing in someone to lead the defense. An aging center? It seems like an odd choice but I digress. Here was a guy in Noah that hadn’t averaged over ten rebounds per game in three years and only averaged just over a block per game. Help on defense? Sure. A guy that deserves the big money on defense? Absolutely not.

Add that to the fact that he hadn’t shot 50% from the floor since the 2011-2012 season and we really see how far Noah had fallen prior to his arrival in New York. But Phil decided to give him a whole bunch of money. Noah did nothing and now they may be stuck with him. Teams aren’t responding to the idea of taking on that big of a contact. Who can blame them? Now they know he is a malcontent in addition to being on the decline in production.

Yeah, bring THAT guy in. Smart!

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This isn’t to take away from the Noah/Hornacek situation in and of itself. Even in a simple vacuum it is a problem. But it doesn’t just come from there. The problem could be solved if it wasn’t for Phil Jackson. Not every former coach can be the lead executive for a franchise. Buckle up because it won’t be the last time that we will trace a problem right back to Phil.

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