Taj Gibson has become a staple in Tom Thibodeau’s rosters throughout several teams. After being an important rotation player for Thibs over the past two seasons, it was orignally reported that the Knicks and Gibson had agreed to a one-year, $2.7 million deal to return to NY.
Now, the Knicks and Gibson have reached an agreement to adjust the terms of the contract from the one-year, minimum-salary to a two-year, $10.1 million deal according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Taj Gibson’s deal with the Knicks has been restructured, agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells ESPN: Gibson will now sign a two-year, $10.1M deal to return to New York. He had originally agreed to a one-year deal.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 17, 2021
New York likely had renounced their Early Bird rights on Gibson to maximize their cap flexibility to sign free agents such as Kemba Walker, Derrick Rose, Evan Fournier, Nerlens Noel and Alec Burks. Now they will use their midlevel exception to complete the contract.
It’s considered a win-win for all parties. Gibson gets rewarded for his locker-room mentorship over the last two seasons, and the Knicks have a more tradable contract on the books maintaining their cap flexibility.
Through two seasons with the Knicks, Gibson averaged 5.8 points and 4.8 rebounds a game.
