I’m not a lawyer, but I don’t see the point of non-competes.

Non-solicitation agreements cover not stealing clients or employees after you leave. Non-disclosure agreements cover not sharing non-public information. IP assignment agreements cover assignment of all IP created while being employed.

Why do non-competes need to exist given the above CYA mechanisms that companies already have?

(Edit: the only exception is noted elsewhere in this thread - if you sell your company to another, you shouldn’t be able to turn around and create a competitor right away, but that’s an edge case)