Disappointing Knicks season continue, Joakim Noah suspended 20 games for illegal drugs use
Veteran to serve suspension upon return from injury
Another New York Knicks season is about to end in disappointment but there are more bad news for the ball club. Centre Joakim Noah has been suspended 20 games for violating the league’s anti-drug program, according to latest NBA news on Saturday.
According to a Yahoo Sports report, Noah tested positive for an over-the-counter supplement that is banned in the current NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA). The league will reportedly suspend Noah for the next 20 games, after he returns from an injury he suffered earlier in the 2016-2017 NBA regular season.
Noah is currently out of action for the Knicks and had surgery on Feb. 27. The veteran big man is expected to return later in the regular season and will serve the first half of his suspension, or 10 games, for the current season. The other 10-game ban will be served by the 2017-2018 NBA Season.
Additionally, the report stated that Noah “knowingly or willingly” violated the league’s anti-drug policy but “cooperated fully” with the NBA investigation into the matter.
Phil Jackson, the Knicks’ team president, acquired Noah via free agency in the 2016 NBA offseason. Noah signed a four-year $94.4 million contract in New York despite struggling in his final years with his former team, the Chicago Bulls.
Noah was one of the better centres in the league in his first seven years in the league. However, in his final year in Chicago, he averaged just 7.2 points, 9.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists 21.9 minutes per game in 67 outings played. This was a drop off in prior seasons when he averaged a double-double.
In his first year for the Knicks, he was expected to be one of the core players alongside Kristaps Porzingis, Carmelo Anthony and Derrick Rose, who was acquired by New York in an offseason trade with Chicago. However, Noah lost his starting job and has only averaged 5.0 points, 8.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in 46 games played before the injury.
The 32-year-old Noah has three years left in his deal with N.Y. after the current season so the veteran still has time to prove he can still be a starter in the NBA. The Knicks are currently in rebuilding mode and it’s not clear if Noah will be returning to N.Y. with Carmelo Anthony in the line-up.
