Minnesota Timberwolves: Pros and cons of Taj Gibson

Con: Salary

When the two-year $28 million deal was first announced, it didn’t seem like a bad contract from the Timberwolves perspective. Especially considering last year’s cash explosion which saw Timofey Mozgov (four years, $64 million),  Evan Turner (four years, $70 million) and Joakim Noah (four years $72 million), among others, get huuuuge deals.

However, last year is proving to be an outlier with the salary cap explosion. Salary cap predictions for the next few years are coming back to life and this year’s cap even dropped a few million than first predicted.

As the 2017 market settles, this deal is looking worse and worse for Thibodeau and co.

First, they tied up the remaining cap they had left for a player who is a questionable fit at best, leaving them with no room to fill out the rest of their roster.

Secondly, the market had quickly dried up, leaving plenty of comparable players available to be had for the cheap. Even before we got to this stage, players on a similar skill level as Gibson signed for less money.

Here’s a breakdown of the average per year salary some players have signed for this offseason:

It’s hard to blame Thibodeau for the way this turned out as most teams were duped this offseason. It’s nice to see the front office being aggressive and taking a risk on Gibson based on last season’s market.

Unfortunately for Minnesota, it appears Gibson used his relationship with Thibs for better money instead of vice versa.