Steve Novak Still Renting Despite Stability
A smart NBA employee, according to New York Knicks forward Steve Novak, doesn’t buy a home in the city where he works; he rents.
“Statistically, very few guys stay in one place, so I think the people you have around you, your agents and advisors, are people that tell you to rent, don’t buy,” Novak said. “You are probably not going to be there forever, and even if you feel like you are, you can’t guarantee it. The guys who find a home are lucky, but I think a lot guys do bounce around for their whole career.”
Novak, of course, had always been one of those guys before finding a good landing spot in Manhattan. Drafted as a Houston Rocket, Novak has played for five different teams in only seven NBA seasons. However, after a career year with the Knicks in 2011-12, Novak was able to ink a four-year deal to stay in New York.
Of course, that doesn’t mean he’s decided it’s time to buy.
“I rent,” Novak said, “because a lot of times things are out of your control. Sometimes the team controls the situation when it comes down to it, so with injuries and contracts… it’s just smart to rent. That doesn’t mean I want to be somewhere else; obviously I want to be in New York for the rest of my career, but I will rent every day of it.”
Actually, Novak is starting to feel like New York really is home, and that security has played a big part in him actually settling into a niche as a professional basketball player. It took him a while, but having some long-term certainty has made his life much easier.
“As a basketball player you want to be somewhere where people care, where there’s basketball fans, where they want to see you succeed,” Novak said about playing in the Big Apple. “We have a full house every night, we have people that follow us and care about us and want to see how we are doing. As basketball players there’s nothing better than being appreciated for what you do, I think in any field, whether it be basketball or anything else.”
In just around 80 games with the Knicks, Novak already does feel appreciated, and even though he’s only a role player on a team with some significant star power, he says that’s a big reason why New York has been so successful this season.
“We’ve got stars like Carmelo (Anthony) and Amar’e (Stoudemire), and the rest of us are role players that understand our jobs,” Novak said. “I think that’s what makes teams good in the NBA is when guys understand what their jobs are, and we have a team full of guys who understand what they do. We have veteran guys, unselfish guys, and guys who have won, so I understand my role and my role is to space the floor and knock down shots.”
If he can keep on doing that, Novak should have plenty of job security as a Knick, and while that may not convince him to ditch his lease and pick up a mortgage, it’s enough to keep him happy, both professionally and personally, for the first time since joining this league seven years ago.
“That’s what you strive for as a player, to have security and know that you have a home,” Novak said. “You understand it’s not necessarily going to happen the first place you go or in the first couple of years, but that’s the ultimate goal and for me I feel that this is hopefully that.”
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