After getting shipped at the trade deadline, everything appeared to have taken a bleak turn for former Philadelphia 76ers forward Guerschon Yabusele. He was coming off an ugly stint in New York which was a clear and resounding mistake on the part of both camps, and he was set to head to a struggling Chicago team that had just fallen out of the favor in the postseason race.
Yet here we are, with just a few weeks left before the regular season concludes, looking at a completely different version of Yabusele. In nearly 25 minutes per ball game, he is averaging 10.2 points and 5.7 boards, but what distinguishes him now is the novel way he is leaving his imprint on the hardwood — by being a full-time operator on the perimeter.
The Frenchman is averaging more than two makes per contest from rainbow country on almost five attempts a night. His 43.3 percent success rate from three-point range is easily a career-best mark for him, and it is not even remotely close. All of a sudden, he has become a bona fide threat as a floor-spacer.
Former 76ers forward Guerschon Yabusele has found a new leash in life with the Bulls
Yabusele exiting the 76ers was quite unfortunate, but his extremely disappointing stint with the Knicks quelled a lot of those sentiments. After all, he just did not see eye-to-eye with Mike Brown, and he never really got a fair shake with his new ball club. That made it pretty unsurprising that he got dealt at the deadline.
Last season, he emerged as a malleable piece for the 76ers, functioning in numerous ways to help the team stay afloat through the cornucopia of injuries they dealt with. More importantly, he was effective on both ends as a versatile utility man, which made it all the more baffling that New York could not find a way to make him useful.
With Yabusele expected to stay in Chicago next season, there is still a lot of time for him to prove that his re-emergence is no fluke. Of course, he will want to stay in the NBA after a lot of years spent in Europe, but if he keeps this up, he should have no problem finding a place to call home. The Frenchman’s stint with the 76ers ended strangely, but given how he fared when he was in Philly, fans surely cannot help but root for him moving forward.