Could a Joakim Noah, Wesley Matthews Centered Deal Work?

Joakim Noah has one of the worst contracts in the NBA, but could the Knicks attach enough assets to unload the remaining years on his deal?

Joakim Noah has played a total of 1052 minutes in New York and is still a headline somehow.

In the summer of 2016, the New York Knicks signed Joakim Noah to a four-year, $72 million contract. Since then, he has appeared in 42 games his first season and just seven games this season.

Stuck at the end of the roster, Noah has vaulted himself to the front page of headlines after a riff with Jeff Hornacek.

After all of this, is there a way for the Knicks to get rid of Noah’s contract via trade?

Pretty much, how much would it take from the Knicks to make it worth it for a team to take on Noah’s contract? For starters, an unprotected first round pick would most likely have to be in the deal. After that, I would want Willy Hernangomez and another young flyer.

Could New York tango with the Mavericks?

New York

Getting off of the Noah contract would be huge, but it would come at a cost of an unprotected first round pick. This would be a win-now trade that Kristaps Porzingis has recently made clear that he wants the organization to make.

Matthews would give the Knicks a veteran wing defender to go alongside of Tim Hardaway Jr. on the wing and allow Courtney Lee to move into a 6^th man role. Matthews could also play a defensive mentor role with Frank Ntilikina.

No matter what the Knicks do with Kyle O’Quinn, Dwight Powell would give them a versatile big that could log minutes for them in the playoffs behind Porzingis.

This would add roughly $10 million to their cap next season.

Dallas

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Noah is on the books for $18.5 million in 2018-19 (roughly the same as Matthews) and $19.2 million for the 2019-20 season. Basically, what would be enough for Dallas to pay an extra year of Noah for $19.2 million?

Willy Hernangomez is a 23 year old, 6’11” big man that showed signs of being a young piece of the future in New York until he found himself outside the rotation over the past couple of months. He is under contract for the next two seasons of his rookie contract.

Doug McDermott will be a restricted free agent this summer. He is still just 26 years and a 6’8” sharpshooting wing that would provide the Mavericks with depth off the bench. The price should be cheap to keep him this summer if they desired.

The unprotected 2018 first round pick would most likely be in the 12-18 range on draft night. This would allow Dallas to have potentially two lottery picks in the draft where they could try to move up in the draft or come out of it with two quality prospects to grow alongside of Dennis Smith Jr.

Next: Four Wesley Matthews Trade Possibilities

Personally, I wouldn’t do this deal if I am Dallas simply because I do not think the non-Noah pieces are worth taking on the contract of Noah for. But if Dallas is serious about gaining another first round pick and some young assets, this could be a route they entertain on the trade market.