Joakim Noah spent two seasons with the New York Knicks after signing a four-year, $72 million deal.

Noah now admits that he wasn't quite mature enough to handle living in New York.

"I'm too lit to play in New York City," Noah said on The Chris Vernon Show. "I was too lit. Memphis is perfect for me. Chicago was lit, too, but I was younger. You can recover faster."

Noah signed with the Memphis Grizzlies several weeks after his buyout with the Knicks.

Noah's tenure with the Knicks ended following an altercation with Jeff Hornacek.

"It happened so fast," Noah said. "One year I'm playing 35 minutes a game. And then injuries started piling up. I got this crazy deal with the Knicks, and then the next thing you know I'm not playing anymore. Get kicked off the team. It was a crazy time. I wasn't sure I was gonna get an opportunity to play again."

Noah remained in New York and continued to party before deciding to head to Malibu to rededicate himself to playing again.

"When I got kicked off the team, it was New York Fashion Week," Noah said. "I was getting paid a lot of money and I had no direction. I really had to make a decision of how I wanted to live my life. If I kept going in the direction I was going in and stayed in New York, then I probably wouldn't be here right now."