When it was revealed during the course of this game that Taj Gibson is only averaging four PPG per game this season, I’m not gonna lie to you all, my mind was blown a little bit. It wasn’t, like, serious mind-blowage, but when I heard that stat, it was like I temporarily disconnected from reality and started trying to evaluate from a neutral perspective whether all of the so-called “knowledge” I’ve accumulated over the years was just a pile of falsehoods.
The good news is, I returned to reality with my sanity intact. The bad news is, Taj Gibson really is averaging four PPG per game (closer to five now). That seems crazy to me after he had two really good seasons with the Timberwolves. But the Knicks are in a weird place right now, where somebody like Gibson isn’t really needed for any reason. So they’re giving him basically the smallest possible role that they can get away with and don’t care that his production has tanked.
In my view, Gibson should be traded. If a player of Gibson’s caliber is only averaging three points more than dudes like Rayjon Tucker, that’s a situation that needs to be corrected. And, for once, I’m not going to jokingly suggest that he get traded to the Bucks for Thon Maker. Gibson’s had a solid enough career where I won’t joke about his value like that. A solid enough career where the Knicks could easily nab a second-round pick and some raw prospect for him. Unlike Marcus Morris, who is being treated as a long-term building block by the Knicks, Gibson is receiving no such treatment. And that’s just not cool. Not cool at all.