Joakim Noah to the Knicks Makes Sense, and Why we Shouldn’t Care about Years and Dollars

The NBA rumor mill is churning, and it appears more than imminent that the New York Knicks will move closer to becoming the New York Bulls.

Reportedly, the Knicks are on the verge of adding another former Bull, Joakim Noah for a reported 4 year, 72 million-dollar contract after adding Derrick Rose last week.

Fans and pundits are complaining it’s too many years and too many dollars for a fringe star.

First off, if anyone should be angry about these contracts, it’s NFL players who literally put their lives and health on the line, and could be cut without pay in a nanosecond.

Second, to James Dolan and many other owners in the NBA, this is Monopoly money.

Tomofey Mozgov, who can barely get on the court, is about to make 64 million dollars guaranteed, Nicolos Batum, who has never been an All-Star, is about to make 120-million guaranteed so what’s wrong with 72 million for a 2-time All-Star in Noah?

The other issue is the length of the deal.

Many people believe that 4 years is too long of a contract for a guy with some injury history and who is post-30.

However, it is important to note that expiring contracts are of great value in the NBA.

So a 4 year deal is really a 3 year deal, and should the Knicks backload Noah’s deal, it becomes even more of an asset.

So the Knicks are adding not just a piece who could help them now, but an asset down the line as well in Joakim Noah.