New York Post

Noah explains what went wrong

- By ANTHONY BARSTOW abarstow@nypost.com

It would be kind to describe Joakim Noah’s time with the Knicks as tumultuous.

Now with the Grizzlies, the big man has opened up about what he thinks went wrong with the Knicks, and at least some of it has to do with enjoying the New York City night light a bit too much.

“I can look back on it and say I thought I was ready for New York City, and I wasn’t,” Noah said in an interview on the “Chris Vernon Show.” “It’s something I have to live with.

“I remember after the first game, I probably had, like, 60 people at my house. I’m lit. I’m too lit to play in New York City. Memphis is perfect for me. Chicago … we were lit in Chicago, but I was young. You recover faster, you know?”

The former Defensive Player of the Year with the Bulls came to the Knicks in 2016 on what is widely con- sidered the worst contract of the Phil Jackson era.

His tenure was marked by poor performanc­e, injuries, a drug suspension and locker-room strife. After signing a four-year, $72 million deal, Noah appeared in just 53 games across two seasons before he was waived by the new front office in October.

The low point probably came in January this year, when Noah and thenKnicks head coach Jeff Hornacek got into a heated argument at practice, ostensibly over Noah’s lack of playing time. Following that dust-up, Noah was sent away from the team, never to return.

“When I got kicked off the team, it was New York fashion week and I was getting a lot of money and I had no direction,” Noah said. “I really had to make a decision of how I wanted to live my life. If I kept going on the direction I was going in and stayed in New York, then I probably wouldn’t be here right now.

“Partying … yeah, I’m getting paid millions of dollars, and I have nothing to do, and I’m 32 years old. I had to lock in and set a routine for myself … ’cause partying and being an athlete, they don’t go hand in hand.”

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United States