Can signing veteran forward Taj Gibson prove to be a good option for the Washington Wizards?

Taj Gibson, a former power forward/center for the New York Knicks, intends to join the Washington Wizards after clearing waivers on Sunday, sources told The Athletic on Saturday.

Through 52 games for New York last season, Gibson, 37, averaged 4.4 points and 4.4 rebounds, both career lows. The Wizards acquired guards Monte Morris and Will Barton through trades, signed guard Delon Wright this offseason, and just signed Bradley Beal to a five-year maximum contract.

Gibson signed a two-year deal with the Knicks in the offseason of 2021. However, his $5,155,500 salary for the 2022–2023 NBA season was not guaranteed. By firing him, New York will escape paying any of that money.

According to Fred Katz of The Athletic, New York has waived Gibson and renounced Ryan Arcidiacono’s free-agent rights. The two actions are clear indications that the Knicks want to avoid going over the cap by signing Jalen Brunson via a sign-and-trade rather than completing their rumored signings of Isaiah Hartenstein, Jericho Sims, and Brunson.

The Knicks theoretically could have used their mid-level exception to sign Hartenstein and Sims. By keeping a $9MM+ trade exception and the $4.1MM bi-annual exception if they had been successful in converting their Alec Burks/Nerlens Noel trade with Detroit into a three-team deal involving Dallas and Brunson. The quickest route, though, and the one that leaves them with the $5.4MM space exemption available, is to free up cap room for their acquisitions.

While a few other clubs have shown interest in Gibson, there’s a chance he’ll re-sign with the Knicks if he clears waivers, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv.

Image Credits – Hoops Rumours

Gibson played slightly over 18 minutes per game while with the Knicks and averaged 5.3 points and 4.7 rebounds across 159 games. Gibson was selected by the Chicago Bulls with the No. 26 overall choice in the 2009 NBA Draft. He has played 900 regular-season games in his career. He has participated in games with the Bulls, Knicks, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Oklahoma City Thunder. Gibson has averaged 9.0 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.0 assists, and 1.0 blocks throughout the course of his career.

 

 

More NBA news: 

Follow our NBA page for more key NBA updates and news