More on Taj Gibson Free Agency
The New York Knicks announced today that the team has signed five players: Wayne Ellington, Taj Gibson, Elfrid Payton, Bobby Portis and Julius Randle. Terms of the deals were not disclosed.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Wayne, Taj, Elfrid, Bobby and Julius to New York,” said Scott Perry, general manager, New York Knicks. “Collectively, we’re adding a mix of extremely talented and experienced multi-dimensional players who will improve our team as we continue building out a deep and versatile roster. These players are all tough-minded, motivated and ready to compete, and we’re excited to have them as part of the Knicks family.”
Adrian Wojnarowski: Taj Gibson has agreed to a two-year, $20M deal with the Knicks, agent Mark Bartelstein tells ESPN.
Ian Begley: The Knicks have made significant progress toward an agreement with veteran Taj Gibson, per SNY sources.
Shams Charania: Free agent Taj Gibson has agreed to a two-year, $28M deal with Minnesota, league sources tell The Vertical.
Sam Amick: Taj Gibson's two year, $28 million deal with Minnesota has no option on the second year, I'm told.
Marc J. Spears: With Boogie gone, sources say Kings intent on landing vet PF. Keep eye on Dave Joeger's ex-big Zach Randolph, Patrick Patterson & Taj Gibson
Darren Wolfson: #Twolves will have interest in Taj Gibson, but told not a ton, at least initially. Nets, Knicks, Lakers, OKC, Pacers, 76ers also interested.
Nate Feken: Here's Taj Gibson (@TajGibson22) on the possibility of him returning to OKC next season -- "... It felt like home." #Thunder
Michael Scotto: Taj Gibson on free agency: "The goal is to try to stay. I would like to stay, but we have to wait and see. I love playing here in OKC."
Gibson, 31, was absolutely going to leave as a free agent this summer, league sources say. The Bulls were not going to re-sign him.
Taj Gibson fielded some questions from Twitter followers, including one asking if he thought he'd remain with the Thunder beyond this season. "We'll have to see. I would hope so," Gibson said. "I always had a sense that I had a relationship with Oklahoma City for a long time. I remember when I came here for my predraft workout, I wanted to get drafted here so bad years ago. But you never know. We'll have to wait and see, but everybody here is great. We've been having good information from my agent so far."
Taj Gibson has survived near-annual trade rumors to become, in his eighth season, the longest-tenured Bull. He's also poised to become an unrestricted free agent for the first time next summer. "Of course I want to stay here," Gibson said in an interview with the Tribune.
"The amount of money I'm seeing guys making is ridiculous. But I'm going to remain humble," Gibson said. "I'm going to stay focused and know I was blessed to get that last deal I got."
If you know Gibson, though, you know that his sole focus remains the team. “I’m really trying not to pay attention to that,” Gibson said when asked about being in his contract year. “I’ll do what I’ve got to do on the court and everything will be fine. Right now, I’ve got a good group of guys that is looking for me and encouraging me to play well every night, so that’s the main thing coming in. That’s what’s making my job a lot easier.”
