Grizzlies sign Noah to 1-year deal

Joakim Noah has found a new home.

The Memphis Grizzlies signed Noah for the remainder of the 2018-19 season, the team announced Wednesday. The prorated contract is worth $1.7 million, the veteran's minimum, league sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Last season, in the second of his four-year, $72-million deal with the New York Knicks, Noah played just 40 total minutes and found himself listed as inactive most nights. He was eventually bought out using the stretch provision prior to the start of this season.

However, from 2009 to 2014, Noah averaged 11.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game for the Chicago Bulls, emerging as a lock-down interior defender and one of the best passers for his position in the league.

He was named to the All-Star team in both 2013 and 2014, and went on to capture the Defensive Player of the Year award and All-NBA first-team honors for the 2013-14 season, playing a career-high 2,820 total minutes during the regular season.

Since that banner year, though, Noah has averaged just 37.5 games per season, owing to either injury or organizational fit. Four years removed from his last All-Star appearance, he turns 34 in February.

The Grizzlies have started the campaign 13-9 and sit sixth in the Western Conference. As an understudy to another former Defensive Player of the Year in Marc Gasol, Noah will provide frontcourt depth for Memphis rather than play a foundational role on both ends of the floor.