Knicks News: Taj Gibson Agrees to 10-Day Contract Ahead of 2024 NBA Trade Deadline

Taj Gibson wasn't away from the New York Knicks for long.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday that the Eastern Conference team is bringing back the veteran on a 10-day contract. Gibson last played for New York during a New Year's Day win over the Minnesota Timberwolves but was waived later that week.

There was a reason the Knicks waived Gibson when they did.

Fred Katz of The Athletic explained at the time that his contract was set to become guaranteed before the move. By waiving him, New York provided itself with more flexibility to make multi-player trades with 14 players on the roster.

Yet the Knicks brought Gibson back Tuesday.

There won't be much of a learning curve, as he is quite familiar with head coach Tom Thibodeau. He played for Thibodeau for five seasons with the Chicago Bulls from 2010 to 2015 and two seasons for the Minnesota Timberwolves from 2017 to 2019. He was also with the Knicks from 2020 to 2022 alongside the veteran coach.

Gibson was an important part of Thibodeau's frontcourt rotations earlier in his career as an athletic, low-post scorer who could also help control the boards either as a starter or a source of energy off the bench.

However, he is 38 years old at this point and averaged just 1.4 points and 1.8 rebounds in 9.7 minutes per game during his first stint with the Knicks this season.

While Gibson likely won't be anything more than an occasional contributor, he at least provides experienced frontcourt depth with Mitchell Robinson and Julius Randle sidelined by injuries.