Views from OKC: The Thunder don’t need to bring back Taj Gibson
By Tony Heim
Views from OKC is a public diary from an OKC Thunder fan. Today we discuss whether or not re-signing Taj Gibson is a good move.
In a perfect world Taj Gibson would be playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder next season. Alas, this world is not perfect.
The Thunder acquired Gibson at the trade deadline, fully aware that the 31-year old would be entering free agency. Sam Presti understood that Gibson is going to “go get that bag” this offseason, most likely his last opportunity to cash in on a big contract. As Presti said, he wanted to give the 2016-2017 team the best chance to win in the playoffs.
Oddly enough, Gibson’s per game minutes actually decreased in the playoffs as Billy Donovan opted (correctly) to play his traditional big men less. His inability to shoot threes hurt a Thunder lineup that already struggled with spacing, but his ability to defend perimeter players was key in the rare times OKC slowed Houston down.
Gibson’s game is a perfect match for a young team building around Russell Westbrook; he’s a physical player that’s agile for his size and a well-respected veteran. But the Thunder already have $110 million locked up next season, including over $40 million to Steven Adams and Enes Kanter combined. Paying Gibson would entail Oklahoma City spending around 50% of their cap for three big men who can’t space the floor.
The cap isn’t the only problem with re-signing Gibson either. With Jerami Grant and Domantas Sabonis both expected to take leaps the Thunder already have four rotational bigs on their roster. Dakari Johnson is patiently waiting for a two-way contract and Nick Collison wants to return, potentially giving OKC 6 bigs for 17 roster spots. Oh yeah, and Presti also discussed Doug McDermott playing more power forward next season.
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The way the roster looks now, paying Taj Gibson the money he deserves isn’t justifiable. If the Thunder were to trade Kanter and receive a legitimate perimeter player in return than they should consider it. Yet even then there isn’t enough minutes to go around.
If the playoffs taught us anything it’s that Russell Westbrook needs wings. He needs at least one more guy who can stretch the floor and defend guards, not another big built to play in the NBA of the past.