Joakim Noah turned 33 in exile on Sunday, but Thursday is the more important date for the veteran Knicks center. It will determine if he’ll ever return to the court this season.
March 1 is the deadline for Noah to be waived in order for him to be eligible for the playoffs. Noah has two years left on his $72 million contract after this season, and the Knicks would only waive him if he agrees to a buyout and left money on the table.
A fair estimate for Noah to forgo would be $5 million. That would be a little more than his take the next two seasons if he signed with another club for the veteran’s minimum, which is $2.3 million.
If he did forgo the $5 million, the Knicks would save roughly $2.5 million on the salary cap in the summers of 2019 and 2020.
Noah has played in seven games this season and the Knicks don’t want him back as long as Jeff Hornacek is head coach.
According to sources, the Players Association will intensify its interest if Thursday’s deadline passes and Noah still is on the Knicks. If Noah wants back, it could get ugly. Sources who have spoken to the Knicks brass say Noah’s camp has been oddly quiet.
Hornacek and Noah feuded on a road trip last month — with a nasty verbal altercation occurring at practice in Denver leading him to leave the club Jan. 25.
Sources have indicated the feud is untenable and the Knicks were within their rights to levy a suspension for insubordination after Noah cursed out his head coach. The team chose not to.
Hence, Noah is still getting paid.
Noah has already forfeited some of the $72 million that former team president Phil Jackson lavished upon him in the summer of 2016. It was arguably Jackson’s worst move. Noah served 20 games for a drug suspension — 12 of those to start this season.
According to NBA sources, the forfeiture of money for suspended games under the drug agreement is a negotiated fee and confidential.
Sources told The Post Noah gave up significantly more than $1 million for taking a supplement last season that contained Androgen.
It has been a hellish Knicks stint for the son of tennis legend Yannick Noah, who grew up in Hell’s Kitchen. Last month Noah became furious at Hornacek for embarrassing him in Oakland during a game against the Warriors. Hornacek used him for just four minutes of fourth-quarter garbage time.
Hornacek yanked Noah for starter Enes Kanter despite the Knicks being down 18 points. It was a game in which Noah expected to see real action because Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle O’Quinn were hurt.
The ideal situation is for the Knicks to trade Noah this summer and get back a less-burdensome contract. They tried and failed to do so at the Feb. 8 trade deadeline.
As The Post reported, the Knicks engaged Orlando about Elfrid Payton and attempted to add Noah and the similarly egregious contract of Orlando’s Bismack Biyombo.
Draft night would be the next time the Knicks can feasibly trade Noah, but his value will continue at a low ebb if he can’t play.
One potential scenario is Knicks brass telling Noah to sit tight for this season and prepare for a 2018-19 return, with the chances of Hornacek returning slim.
Golden State has monitored Noah’s situation. One league personnel director said Noah makes sense for the Warriors, who have a habit of “collecting role-playing big men who defend and rebound.’’ Al Horford, his former Florida mate, said he’d love to have Noah on the Celtics and thinks he’ll be a good addition to a playoff team.
Earlier this month, the union released a statement to The Post, stating: “We are closely monitoring the situation to make sure Joakim Noah is treated fairly under the rules of our collective bargaining agreement.”
Knicks general manager Scott Perry has said recently Noah won’t be on the squad “until further notice.”