Reports: Knicks Heavy Favorites To Sign Joakim Noah
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- Joakim Noah could soon be a Knick, according to multiple reports.
According to an ESPN report, the Knicks are the favorite to sign the 6-foot-11 free agent center, a view said to be shared by multiple interested teams.
Have heard the same lament from multiple interested teams tonight: They see New York as a big favorite to land Joakim Noah in free agency.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 30, 2016
While free agents can't verbally commit to any agreements until 12:01 a.m. Friday and can't officially sign any contracts until July 7, The Washington Post reported Thursday that Noah, who spent the past eight seasons with the Chicago Bulls, is expected to join the Knicks for about $18 million per year.
Noah and Knicks president Phil Jackson are reportedly scheduled to meet Friday. The Wizards and Timberwolves, who hired Noah's former Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, are also rumored to be interested in him.
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Noah is intrigued by the idea of playing for his hometown Knicks, ESPN reported. The son of former French tennis player Yannick Noah and former Miss Sweden Cecilia Rodhe, Noah was born in New York City and played at the United Nations International School in Manhattan and Poly Prep in Brooklyn.
With the Bulls, Noah, 31, was a two-time All-Star and was voted the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year after the 2013-14 season. However, he is coming off an injury-plagued season in which he suffered two significant shoulder injuries that limited him to 29 games, including just two starts. He averaged just 4.3 points and 8.8 rebounds.
If he does sign with the Knicks, Noah would be reunited with friend and former Bulls teammate Derrick Rose, who made his feelings about Noah clear at his introductory news conference last week.
"Oh, I want him," Rose said. "He knows that. I think his family knows that. I think everybody knows that."
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The Knicks are in the market for a starting center after sending Robin Lopez -- along with point guards Jose Calderon and Jerian Grant -- to Chicago in the Rose trade
With about $30 million in salary cap space, signing Noah would effectively eliminate New York from the Kevin Durant sweepstakes. But considering the Thunder star's six scheduled meetings do not include the Knicks, that was likely a pipe dream anyway, and waiting on Durant could cost New York a shot at other more attainable free agents.
The Knicks also have a hole in their starting lineup at shooting guard. They are interested in the Hornets' Courtney Lee, the Pelicans' Eric Gordon and the Hawks' Kent Bazemore, according to various reports.