By Grant Hill
Joakim Noah’s poor play has opened the door for a replacement. (Courtesy of Flickr)
The basketball gods have shown little mercy towards the New York Knicks this season.
A year that has seen an abundance of mistakes began its rocky tumble before the season even started. The Joakim Noah acquisition has backfired since the news of the signing hit the wires. His latest mishap with a failed drug test has arrived in what can only be described as Knicks-esque timing. This is when the realization started to set in: they have had a center all along, and his name is Willy Hernangomez.
Fans have been trying to shake off the debris from the Noah bomb, but instead of a bomb it has turned out to be a mine field, with explosions hiding under every step. What started it all, let’s call this the “Big Bang”, was when the Knicks handed the worn-down center a four-year, $72 million contract over the summer. Everyone and their mother knew that he wasn’t worth anything close to that number, but that is how the Knicks roll. It made me experience severe flashbacks of Amar’e Stoudemire, but at least Amar’e still had some game left in him. Noah’s career seems all but done.
What the Knicks have received in return is a player whom when on the court, which has been very little, can barely compete at the level an NBA player needs to compete. Physically it looks as though Noah has reached the last gallon left in his tank. Not only has he lost a step, or two, but he has also been plagued by the injury bug. This should come as no surprise to the Knicks or anyone else, as signs of Noah’s regression were clearly coming to fruition during the latter part of his Chicago Bulls’ days. The Knicks did not sign a player who suddenly became diminished, they signed an already diminished player… for $72 million.
The franchise tried to deodorize his physical decline with a stick of leadership deodorant. They spewed propaganda that Noah’s veteran leadership was of high value in and of itself. Well, recent events would suggest he’s not even really good for that either. Last week news broke that Noah would be receiving a 20-game suspension for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy, taking a supplement with anabolic-steroid qualities. As Stefan Bondy of The Daily News put it, “only a handful have been suspended by the NBA for taking performance-enhancing drugs. Noah is the first in three years. Not the type of veteran leadership Noah was paid $72 million to bring to the Knicks.”
As the dark cloud of Noah’s contract hangs over the heads of both fans and the franchise, let us not forget this is the first year of his four-year contract, rookie Willy Hernangomez has quietly made a name for himself.
A rather overlooked move by the Knicks in the 2015 draft, the trade for Willy Hernangomez has begun to show its promise. The Spanish center has been impressing people throughout the season. His talent was recognized earlier in the year, and he has done nothing but improve with every opportunity. Hernangomez stood among the NBA’s best rookies in statistical categories such as Player Efficiency Rating and Rebounds per 48 minutes. The lack of productivity from Noah, and his absence due from injury has given Hernangomez more playing time. On Saturday, Hernangomez scored 24 points with 13 rebounds vs. the Spurs. An impressive performance behind an impressive rookie campaign would suggest that Hernangomez deserves serious consideration for the starting center job next season.
The Knicks have found themselves in a very weird dilemma. On the one hand they have a rookie who is proving that he could be the starting center for at least the foreseeable future. On the other hand they have a broken down veteran center who still has three years remaining on his contract and is likely heading towards the path of being a $72 million bench player. Noah will also likely be a piece unable to move, and Hernangomez has showed that we didn’t even need to sign him in the first place. These kinds of things only happen to the Knicks.
