Taj Gibson

Taj Gibson
PF, 6’9, 225lbs, 32 years old, 8 years of experience

Brought in to shore up a power forward spot that was done by committee all season, and even if his addition was only ever to be as a rental, he shored the position up expertly. Taj cannot improve the floor spacing, but he can defend the rim and the perimeter, finish around the basket, compete every trip, pass better than his raw assist numbers suggest, grab a few rebounds and make some catch-and-shoot attempts. The de-fence is technically precise, and a line-up featuring him and Roberson is a defensive beast. Notwithstanding the costs involved, the need to prioritise Roberson and the overall financial picture of the team, re-signing Gibson must be attempted, because every team needs a Taj Gibson.

Player Plan: Entering unrestricted free agency. Also not far short of entering his mid-30s. Was a key cog for a part season of work, and could be a key cog for three more seasons yet, but best not to spend more than $30-35 million or so in those three years on this.

[...] In the returning [hypothetical] package, Utah gets Kirk Hinrich, an incredibly Jerry Sloan-friendly player. Hinrich rarely makes mistakes, plays tough defense (using all the tricks of the trade in the process), is a good citizen, quiet but authoritative, confident without having embarrassing swag, and tries to kill anyone who pushes him over. He can shoot, defend and run the pick and roll, and he even hit some clutch jumpshots last year, which was unexpected and thoroughly welcome. There are not many better backup point guards in the league. They also get Taj Gibson, one of the better draft steals of the 21st century, a strong interior defensive player with a good quality mid-range jumpshot that we weren't aware he had before. Gibson is a pest defensively, undersized for the bigger players at his position but a man who can win possessions with his shotblocking and endless deflections, a sub par defensive rebounder but a strong offensive rebounder, a man who can't catch but a man who can finish around the basket.

[...] The prize to the deal for Utah, moreso than Hinrich, is Gibson. This is not like including Ian Mahinmi or Oleksiy Pecherov in a deal, because Taj can play. He's slender and short, but he can defend those both bigger and quicker than him to good effect, and has some touch both around and away from the rim as well. Millsap is better than him, and by enough for the Bulls to want to swap the two; however, since we're talking about backups here, the gap is not significant enough to matter for Utah.

(It's also of note that, when we said it was a two player draft, we meant Rubio and Blake Griffin. Not Tyreke Evans and Taj Gibson.)