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New York Knicks center Joakim Noah will be suspended 20 games for violating the NBA’s anti-drug program, the league announced on Saturday. Noah reportedly tested positive for using a banned over-the-counter supplement.
The official statement:
Joakim Noah of the New York Knicks has been suspended without pay for twenty games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program by testing positive for Selective Androgen Receptor Modulator LGD-4033, it was announced today by the NBA.
Noah’s suspension will begin with the first regular season or playoff game for which he is eligible and physically able to play.
The “eligible and physically able to play” part is tricky because Noah had knee surgery on Feb. 27. According to the Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who first reported the story, the suspension will start immediately:
Noah, 32, is expected to serve 10 games of the suspension to finish out the 2016-17 regular season and 10 games to start the 2017-18 season, league sources said.
The National Basketball Players Association’s investigation concluded that Noah hadn’t “knowingly or willingly” violated the policy and cooperated fully with the league’s probe, league sources said.
Noah underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Feb. 27, effectively ending his season. He had recently started running and conditioning, league sources said.
The hits keep coming for Noah, who appeared in 46 games for the Knicks this season but could never get fully healthy. Now he’ll be at a disadvantage next October -- after training camp and playing in the preseason, he’ll have to sit and watch his team for a while before being able to jell with his teammates.
It will be interesting to see if he will indeed be allowed to serve half of his suspension this season. When Noah had knee surgery, it was reported that he would be done for the season, but New York announced that he would be re-evaluated in three to four weeks.
Assuming that the Knicks’ roster is similar next season, then New York should be able to get by without Noah for 10 games. Willy Hernangomez has had a solid rookie season, and it’s still likely that Kristaps Porzingis’ best position is center. As for the next 10 games, well, the Knicks didn’t expect to have Noah in the lineup anyway, and the wins and losses don’t really matter anymore, aside from how they affect draft positioning.
