The Knicks Make a $72 Million Mistake

The New York Knicks aren’t exactly off to the start they were hoping for. At 4-6, the Knicks are in 10th place in the Eastern Conference standings with a lot of issues. 

What’s done is done, but one glaring question that is circulating amongst many Knicks fans: did the Knicks give too much money to Noah?

This offseason the Knicks and Noah agreed to a four year, $72.5 million contract.

According to the New York Post, Noah may lose his starting spot on the Knicks rotation. We all know that Noah has never been an elite talent on the offensive end, but his scoring is getting worse and worse by the day.

This season Noah is averaging a career-low 4.3 points per game and his assist numbers are down. It’s one thing not to be an offensive juggernaut, but it’s another thing to be an offensive liability. Countless times we’ve seen Noah get the ball and simply hold it looking dazed and confused.

Noah was benched last season, his final year with the Chicago Bulls. Only once this season has Noah scored even 10 points.

Head Coach Jeff Hornacek does have to be cautious if he does indeed choose to have Noah come off the bench. While Noah’s offensive skills may be diminishing, he is in fact the Knicks leading rebounder. The Knicks have one of the worst defenses in the NBA, and without him on the floor, it might actually get worse.

The Knicks are in a bit of a conundrum here. Noah still all four years remaining on his contract, and he isn’t being paid cheap, either. Do they sacrifice even more defense to improve their offense or try and make a change to help an offense that is also struggling?