In general, when it comes to New York basketball buzz, despite finishing with a losing record in 17 of the last 22 years, the Knicks are usually the team that grabs the most attention.
However, when it comes to the 2022 NBA offseason, without a doubt all eyes will be on their crosstown rivals, the Brooklyn Nets.
Understandable, because that was the start of the summer festival a June 30 tweet from Shams Charania According to reports that Nets star Kevin Durant wanted out of Brooklyn, the franchise has been in the spotlight for a little over a month with no real end to the madness in sight.
Despite all this high-profile hoopla running amok, one way or another, it seems like the conversation keeps coming back to the Knicks. Such was the case on an August 11 episode of “The Draymond Green Show,” in which he answered several questions sent in by fans, many of whom had direct ties to Orange and Blue.
One request in particular ended up being a huge compliment for a former member of the Knickerbockers, as the four-time NBA champion declared veteran big man Taj Gibson the “non-superstar” who caused him the most trouble when he was on defense.
“Non-superstar I have [had] The problem with protecting my entire career is Taj Gibson,” Green said. “I feel like everyone has a guy in their career that’s a hell of a basketball player, but for the world you just go, ‘Oh man, he does X, Y and Z’ or ‘X’ or whatever . Or maybe in your head you’re not like, ‘Oh man, he’s that superstar,’ and I think to me that person was always Taj Gibson.”
Already regarded as the veteran head coach Tom Thibodeau is happy to bring up after spending seven years working together in Chicago and Minnesota, it wasn’t long before Knicks fans shared a similar appreciation for the big man.
Though he may not have filled the stats list or received individual awards during his three-year tenure, Gibson has proven his worth on the defensive side of the parquet, where he served as one of their top contributors, even finishing as the third-best defensive rating and second-best plus-minus Rating of defensive boxing (by those who logged over 400 minutes) in the league’s fourth-ranked defensive unit in 2020-21.
However, the New York native’s time with the Knicks finally ended this summer when Leon Rose and co. gave up on him to free Cap’s spot for free agency work.
After the waivers were cleared, the 37-year-old signed a one-year, $2.9 million contract with the Washington Wizards.
While the departure of Taj Gibson may have been disturbing to some, when it comes to the New York front office, it was simply a business move.
By giving up Gibson, the Knicks freed his $5 million salary cap and sparked a series of other financially-driven departures that eventually created enough flexibility to credit Jalen Brunson with a $104 million deal, a move that’s ending could. will haunt the Dallas Mavericks for years to come.
