Veteran Taj Gibson has accepted his role as a back-up big man as the New York Knicks bank on the services of the younger Nerlens Noel.
Despite being sidelined to date due to a knee injury, Nerlens Noel is expected to make his return soon. The 27-year-old has yet to make an impact in the Knicks squad, having only averaged five points and six rebounds per 24 minutes of action last season. However, Taj Gibson is aware that coach Tom Thibodeau will be handing Noel the minutes and it would mean less playing time for him.
Nevertheless, Gibson insisted that he doesn't really care much about minutes as he is not blinded by the fact that he's been in the league for quite “a while now.”
“I’ve been in this league a while now,” Gibson said of having limited playing time when Noel returns via The New York Post. “So it really doesn’t mean anything to me.”
Gibson went on to stress that he's “happy” to see the Noel working on his return and assured there will be no issues about minutes as he's just there to “do what's best” for the Knicks.
“I’m happy he’s coming back,” he confessed. “I’m just holding down the fort until [Noel is] ready to come play. We need him. He’s been really big for us.
“Right now I’m just trying to do what’s best for the team,” he added. “When Nerls comes back, I’m gonna support him. That’s my young boy and I’m extremely happy because I know the work he puts in on a daily basis, and our big-man group, we work together. I’m happy to see everybody get some reps because I’m old enough.”
Follow Us
Subscribe