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The Knicks signed free agent C Nerlens Noel to a one-year, $5 million deal

Good backup big.

Oklahoma City Thunder v New York Knicks Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

I fell asleep on the couch watching football and woke up to yet another New York Knicks signing!

Free agent center Nerlens Noel will be plying his trade at MSG next season, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Noel has been around the league and seen some shit, despite still being only 26 years old. He was a part of the Process 76ers, but was superfluous on a team with so many bigs, so they shipped him to Dallas. He turned down a huge deal with the Mavs — four years, $70 million — and his career never really recovered. Since then, he has been a backup center on one-year deals, first for Dallas, then for the Oklahoma City.

But make no mistake, Nerlens can ball. He’s a fine depth center with athleticism and keen defensive instincts. Last season he averaged 7.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in limited minutes behind Steven Adams.

This is a fantastic depth signing for the Knicks. Mitchell Robinson is great, but he hasn’t quite conquered his foul troubles. They traded for Ed Davis, but that was a salary dump for draft picks; old man Davis might be cooked. Noel could very well earn big minutes at the 5, and he’ll need to cover defensively for the likes of Obi Toppin and Julius Randle.

Good signing, Knicks!