https://www.newsday.com/sports/bask...-short-circuited-his-knicks-career-1.24549640 In an interview on the "Chris Vernon Show" in Memphis, Noah, who signed two weeks ago with the Grizzlies to try to resurrect his career, blamed the nightlife of New York City for his troubles. “I can look back on it and say I thought I was ready for New York City, and I wasn’t,” said Noah, who signed a four-year, $72-million deal with the Knicks in 2016. “It’s something I have to live with. “I remember after the first game, I probably had, like, 60 people at my house. I’m lit. I’m too lit to play in New York City. Memphis is perfect for me . . . We were lit in Chicago, but I was young. You recover faster, you know?” “When I got kicked off the team it was New York fashion week and I was getting a lot of money and I had no direction,” Noah said. “I really had to make a decision of how I wanted to live my life. If I kept going on the direction I was going in and stayed in New York, then I probably wouldn’t be here right now. “Yeah, partying . . . I’m getting paid millions of dollars and have nothing to do and I’m 32 years old,” Noah said. “And so I really had to really lock in and set a routine for myself and set my training. Because partying and being an athlete don’t go hand-in-hand.” ...But the now 33-year-old said on the radio show he is just happy to be back. “It happened so fast. From one year, I’m playing 35 minutes per game and then injuries started piling up and I got this crazy deal with the Knicks and then the next thing you know I’m not playing anymore,” he said. “Get kicked off the team. It was a crazy time so I wasn’t sure I was going to play again. “I’ve lost my confidence in a real public way. I failed a drug test, and I had to face New York media. I’ve faced some real [stuff]. I know a lot of people in my position would have said, ‘I don’t need this. I got paid. I’ve given a lot to this game,’ and walked away. I knew that I had more in me, and that’s why when I say I’m happy to be here, I know what I went through. To play in the NBA, it’s a blessing.”
