The Knicks on Sunday waived veteran and coach favorite Taj Gibson just before his contract was guaranteed.
Gibson, the oldest player on the Knicks and viewed as a strong locker-room presence, was scooped up by the Knicks in December as insurance after surgery for Mitchell Robinson.
He was thrust into action briefly, but the arrival of Precious Achiuwa in a trade last month left him out of the rotation.
Waiving Gibson leaves the Knicks with an open roster spot and the team is expected to be active before the trade deadline next month.
His $2.24 million salary would’ve been locked in if he wasn’t waived by Sunday.
The Knicks kept Ryan Arcidiacono, who also faced a Sunday deadline for his contract guarantee
Arcidiacono signed a one-year, $2.5 million deal before the season.
“Taj stepped up in a big way to help our team this season and had an immeasurable impact on our organization both on and off the court throughout his time with the Knicks,” Knicks president Leon Rose said in a statement. “He was instrumental in helping us build the foundation and create the Knick culture that exists today. We’re extremely grateful and thank Taj for all his contributions”
Without Gibson, the Knicks still have Achiuwa and Jericho Sims as the backups to starter Isaiah Hartenstein.
On Saturday, Tom Thibodeau, who guided Gibson on three different teams, said he would “100 percent” take the center on his coaching staff at some point.
The day he signed, Gibson said he also sees a future in coaching and considered the Knicks as an ideal spot to learn while he played.
“I’m still considering that. But it has to be the right situation,” Gibson said. “I want to be somewhere where I can learn, brighten my future. This is a bright spot for me, being around the coaching staff who I can learn from. … Here I’m so locked into the coaching staff. They basically taught me how to be a pro. It only fits right where I can learn, just fall right into place.”
The Knicks completed their eighth back-to-back set of the season with the win over the Wizards, and now only have three more.
They’ve also played more road games than any other team in the NBA (22), meaning, theoretically, the hard part of the schedule is in the rearview.
After road games this week at Dallas and Memphis, they won’t have to take another plane trip until mid-February.
“It’s been tough. This has been, for me, my 10 years, this has been one of the more challenging first halves of a season when it comes to back-to-backs and traveling,” Julius Randle said. “Definitely been one of the more challenging ones. But we’ve been resilient. Guys have been fortunate to be healthy.”
Thibodeau seemed happy with the results after preparing for the initial schedule crunch.
“We pressed from the beginning on being ready for what we were gonna face,” the coach said. “And that’s why your conditioning is so important, your mental toughness is so important. I don’t care what it is that you have: you give the team whatever you have.”So if you can play 10 minutes, you play 10 minutes. But you have to practice hard, you have to play hard, and build that habit. Either you’re building the habit to get through things or you’re building the habit to not get through things.”
Heading into Sunday’s games, the Knicks had the 10th easiest remaining schedule in the NBA, which only takes into account the opponent’s record, not whether the game is on the road or home.
So they should be in a good spot for the remaining three months.
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