SALT LAKE CITY — The Knicks are bringing back an old and familiar face.
Taj Gibson, a longtime Tom Thibodeau favorite, is signing with the Knicks for the rest of the season, a league source confirmed.
The move comes after starting center Mitchell Robinson underwent ankle surgery Tuesday and is expected to miss about two months, maybe more.
Gibson, 38, will be the NBA’s fourth-oldest active player, behind only LeBron James, Chris Paul and PJ Tucker.
This will be his third stint with the Knicks after leaving in the 2022 offseason to sign with the Wizards.
The Brooklyn native, who grew up a Knicks fan, can play two positions of need for Thibodeau — either power forward or center — and provides the coach with a trusted leadership voice in the locker room.
As one person familiar with the Bulls during the tenures of Gibson and Thibodeau in Chicago, it’s a strategy from the coach to keep such a player in the locker room to reinforce messages and philosophies.
Beyond Gibson’s leadership presence — which might prove vital after two players, Josh Hart and Quentin Grimes, publicly voiced their frustrations over their roles — the 15-year veteran can plug the holes that will inevitably emerge in a lean frontcourt.
With Robinson out, the Knicks are splitting time at center between Jericho Sims and Isaiah Hartenstein.
They don’t have a natural backup power forward and mostly utilize the 6-foot-4 Hart in that spot.
Gibson was a free agent after being waived by the Wizards before the season.
He’ll be slotted into the Knicks’ open roster spot, which was opened after the Knicks cut Dylan Windler on Wednesday. Windler’s contract wasn’t guaranteed until January.
The Knicks were interested in bringing Gibson back before last season, but the player saw that the Knicks signed two other backup centers — Hartenstein and Sims — and opted for the greater opportunity in Washington.
This will be the fifth contract Gibson signs with the Knicks, and the second time they scoop him up as a free agent in the middle of the season.
The last time that happened — in January of 2021 — Gibson helped lead the franchise to its first playoff appearance in eight years.
“Management has been great to me,” Gibson said before last season. “[Knicks president Leon Rose] and those guys, those guys are like family. Leon didn’t have to give me a second shot after the year we had previously before he came. He came in and gave me another shot. Especially at my age, and most veterans don’t get picked up.”
Now Gibson gets another chance.