Scooping up Guerschon Yabusele right after the Philadelphia 76ers made the then-puzzling decision not to offer him a just price was lauded as a genius move on the part of the Knicks front office in free agency. As such, it simply makes little sense for that same move to eventually emerged as nothing more but fool’s gold.
After a very productive season with the 76ers in 2024-25, which was also his NBA comeback after a half-decade absence in the league, Yabusele has become a glorified benchwarmer in New York. Now, it seems like the Knicks are ready to pull the plug on the Yabu experience, as new rumors point to the Frenchman now finding himself on the chopping block.
Given how little teams have seen of Yabusele so far this season, it is quite difficult to envision any other ball club actively trying to move the needle to acquire him in a deal. Of course, his body of work from last season with the 76ers should still have some lingering effects, but front office are also bound to hold the fact that he has been stuck on the bench against him.
Guerschon Yabusele finds himself on an ugly phase after breakout year with the 76ers
New head coach Mike Brown is clearly not very trusting of Yabusele, who has only sniffed real court time when absolutely necessary. The Knicks have been more than willing to go unorthodox to fill some of their voids in the frontcourt than simply deploy the Frenchman, which is probably a very frustrating development for him.
If there is still a future in the NBA for Yabusele, it is most definitely not going to be in the Big Apple. After his breakout stint with the 76ers, he became one of the better back-for-the-buck commodities in the league. Unfortunately for him, the Knicks (which he picked himself as a destination in free agency) have only reset his value to nearly zero.
New York will do its earnest to try and convince teams to take on Yabusele, who still has a player option to return next season. Hopefully, the Knicks can send him to a team where he can at least be given an opportunity to show that his performance with the 76ers last season was far from a fluke.
Very few players have had the kind of comeback story Guerschon Yabusele had. And while he is technically no longer a point of concern for the 76ers, given the way he poured his heart out for the team last season, one cannot help but hope that he gets shipped to a much better situation.