Sources: Knicks center Joakim Noah to undergo rotator cuff surgery
As his $72 million free-agent contract becomes a bigger source of embarrassment for the organization, New York Knicks center Joakim Noah will undergo surgery for a left torn rotator cuff, league sources told The Vertical.
Noah will need four to six months to rehabilitate the shoulder, sources said, an injury that comes in the aftermath of a 20-game NBA suspension for a banned supplement.
Noah, 32, has had trouble for years with his shoulder, and it necessitated surgery. He underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in January, and the league allowed the Knicks to start his suspension over the final eight games of the regular season.
Noah will be suspended for the first 12 games that doctors deem him healthy to be activated next season.
His continued deterioration leaves the Knicks’ salary cap strangled with the $54 million owed him over the next three seasons. Noah joined the Knicks in July with hopes of rekindling his partnership with Derrick Rose in New York, but Rose’s season was stopped short with knee surgery, too.
Noah averaged five points and 8.8 rebounds in 46 games this season for the Knicks, who are 30-51 – and finishing ahead of only Orlando, Philadelphia and Brooklyn in the Eastern Conference.
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