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The New York Knicks have signed power forward Taj Gibson to a two-year deal, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski:
Taj Gibson has agreed to a two-year, $20M deal with the Knicks, agent Mark Bartelstein tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2019
The 34-year-old Gibson, who just celebrated a birthday last week, spent the last two seasons in Minnesota. He averaged 10.8 points on 56.6% shooting and 6.5 rebounds in 70 games (57 starts). You probably remember he best from his stint on the rugged Tom Thibodeau Bulls teams of the early decade.
One would assume Gibson is coming to the Knicks to play a bench role, as the team signed power forward Julius Randle to a three-year, $63M contract earlier in the day.
Personally, I like the signing. I don’t know if the Knicks were involved in any other backup power forwards, but Gibson fits the role of what they need. He’ll bring defense and toughness to a Knicks team that has been tissue soft for the past few seasons. He can’t shoot the three, but he generally knows what he’s doing on offense.
Gibson is a New York guy, born and raised, so that’s pretty cool. Welcome home, my guy.