The Philadelphia 76ers are still a few short days away from beginning preseason. But before the guys on this roster even touch the hardwood, I think it's already clear that the Sixers are going to regret letting Guerschon Yabusele sign with the New York Knicks this summer.
I would say the first reason for this is positional need. Philadelphia is clearly lacking wehn it comes to power forwards on their roster right now. Tobias Harris departed for the Detroit Pistons a season ago, Kelly Oubre is still a staple in the rotation but he's also a trade candidate, and the roster appears to be tilted more toward guards without a lot of natural fits at the power forward spot.
It's unfortunate because of the fact that Yabusele was such a natural fit with the 76ers. At 6-foot-8 with a strong frame, he was sort of built to play power forward right alongside Joel Embiid. In 70 games last season, he brought a physicality, rebounding presence and defensive versatility that the rest of the roster doesn't necessarily have.
Another component to this is his improved shooting ability. It was clear that Yabusele improved his range and accuracy from three-point range while playing overseas. He went from a 32% three-point shooter with the Boston Celtics in 2018 and 2019 to a 38% shooter from deep in Philly this past year.
The 76ers have less options at PF without Yabusele
Now, without Guerschon on the roster, more questions are raised. If Oubre is indeed traded at some point during the upcoming campaign, the Sixers could reasonably be left without any real reliable, proven options at the power forward spot. There are guys like Dominick Barlow and the rookie Johni Broome, but they're less proven. You may end up in a situation where you have to play Paul George more at the four, which I'm not sure is ideal.
The 76ers are of course in a place where they hope to be back in the East playoff picture this coming season, especially considering all the major injuries across the conference. But even if they get to the postseason, they're going to end up at a disadvantage if they don't add another power forward.
And what's so frustrating is that Yabusele really was a low-risk, high reward kind of player. After his performance at the 2024 Olympics, there was obviously a good amount of interest in him across the league, but not enough to where he was going to cost a lot. The Knicks were able to sign him for $12 million across two seasons, which is cheap, all things considered.
The fanbase was particularly unhappy with seeing him leave because it seemed to play into the trend of the Sixers giving up on role players too quickly. Guerschon Yabusele's departure unfortunately signals the need for more roster changes in Philadelphia this season.