The Pistons are set to sign veteran big man Taj Gibson to a 10-day contract, agent Mark Bartelstein tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Gibson, 38, spent a portion of this season with the Knicks, having signed a non-guaranteed contract with the team in December.
He was waived on Jan. 7 before his full salary could become guaranteed, then returned to New York on a pair of 10-day deals in January and February. However, the club opted not to bring him back on a rest-of-season contract when the second of those deals expired.
At this point in his career, Gibson is valued more for his veteran leadership and presence in the locker room, which is presumably why the Pistons want to add him to their young roster. However, he did appear in 16 games for the Knicks, averaging 1.0 PPG and 1.8 RPG in 10.3 MPG.
The Pistons recently opened up a pair of roster spots by waiving Mike Muscala and Shake Milton, so they only have 13 players on standard contracts. Even after signing Gibson, they’ll still have an opening on their 15-man roster.
Gibson will earn $183,704 over his 10 days with Detroit, while the club carries a cap hit of $116,075.
Assuming the deal is finalized on Wednesday or Thursday, he’ll be under contract for the Pistons’ next five games before the team would have to decide whether to re-sign him or let him go.
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