Minnesota Timberwolves sign power forward Taj Gibson
Minnesota Timberwolves sign former Tibodeau-era Bulls player Taj Gibson.
By the time you read this, I’m sure you’ve had the thought about Tom Thibodeau signing a lot of former Chicago Bulls. In the truth of the matter, to my count, the Minnesota Timberwolves have only acquired two players, so far, that played for Thibodeau in Chicago: Jimmy Butler and now Taj Gibson.
As 1500 ESPN states, Gibson is reportedly signing with the Timberwolves on a two-year contract worth $28 million. Deals with free agents in the NBA can’t officially be announced by the teams until this coming Thursday.
Gibson had spent his whole career with the Chicago Bulls until the last half of last season when he was sent to the Oklahoma City Thunder with Doug McDermott and a 2018 2nd round draft pick in exchange for Anthony Morrow, Cameron Payne and Joffrey Lauvergne, according to Basketball Reference.
This past season, between the Bulls and Thunder, Gibson averaged 10.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. His career averages per game stand at 9.4 points and 6.3 rebounds. Gibson has played in 585 games in his NBA career and has started 245 games total.
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The power forward gives the Wolves some solid front court depth. Gorgui Dieng was the main power forward this past season for the Timberwolves and should still keep the starter’s minutes. There is a case to be made that Gibson might start in the upcoming season, but Dieng should keep the main minutes with his younger age and, simply, better all-around skill set at this point.
Another very important thing to note is the length of the contract that Gibson reportedly will be signing with the Timberwolves. The two-year deal will allow maximum cap flexibility when the time comes to re-sign Andrew Wiggins, Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Gibson comes in as the second big addition for the Timberwolves in the opening weekend of free agency. Earlier in the weekend, after the trade of Ricky Rubio to the Utah Jazz, Jeff Teague signed on as the team’s new starting point guard.
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