Report: Joakim Noah Expected To Sign With Knicks At $18M Annually
(CBS) Former Bulls teammates Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose are on the verge of reuniting.
Just more than a week after Rose was traded by the Bulls to the Knicks in a stunning five-player trade, Noah is expected to sign with New York and join his good friend, the Washington Post reported. The two spent eight seasons together in Chicago, and the Bulls will let Noah walk in free agency, which opens at 11:01 p.m. CT on Thursday.
Noah deal is expected to start around $18 million annually, the Post reported. It's not yet clear how long the deal will be for.
At his introductory press conference with the Knicks last Friday, Rose admitted he'd already been recruiting Noah to New York, and the two were reportedly enjoying a night out together last week. Throughout their tenures in Chicago -- Noah was drafted by the Bulls in 2007, and Rose joined a year later -- Noah was Rose's staunchest supporter as Rose missed long stretches of time because of three majors knee surgeries.
Noah's expected annual salary is a reflection of the new normal in the NBA, which is seeing the cap just from $70 million to a projected $94 million this coming season after an infusion of new TV money. The 30-year-old Noah is injury-plagued, having been hampered by left knee troubles in 2014-'15 and playing just 29 games in 2015-'16 before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury.
Noah averaged 4.3 points on 38 percent shooting and added 8.8 rebounds last season.