The Philadelphia 76ers may have already passed the offseason test with flying colors, but that did not preclude the front office from seeking further ammunition ahead of the 2024-25 season. Just recently, the team added yet another hot name to the mix with training camp slowly creeping in.
Guerschon Yabusele, a standout for Team France in the recently concluded 2024 Summer Olympics, has agreed to a one-year deal with the 76ers, giving the team a much-needed body to man the forward position, a department they are sorely lacking in.
However, the deal is yet to be finalized thanks to an interesting detail that emerged out of his camp as he propels his way into Philly.
Interesting detail emerges as 76ers finalize tricky transaction with Guerschon Yabusele
Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer revealed just a couple of days ago that Yabusele and his most recent club in Europe, Real Madrid, are still working on a fair buy-out agreement as a requisite to usher in the forward’s official return to the NBA.
Guerschon Yabusele would have to pay like $1.6 million of this $2.1 million salary from Philly to get out of Real Madrid, so he’d basically be playing for Philly for 500 grand this year and taking a massive discount to do so. I have been told that Guerschon’s camp and Real Madrid are working together to figure out an equitable solution to make all that happen, so I don’t think there’s anything nefarious going down. I don’t think there’s any reason to be hurting or feeling sorry for Guerschon Yabusele’s pocketbook here.
The 28-year-old has been pretty vocal about wanting to return to the big league since leaving for Europe in 2019, and while there seems to be no major hurdle to that, he needs to resolve his current tricky ordeal with Real Madrid, which he has been a part of since 2021.
Yabusele is clearly operating under a prove-it deal, especially given the amount he will have to give up in order to fulfill his desire to return to the US and play for the 76ers. That being said, with a readily available role for taking, the re-jump to the NBA should be pretty worth it, especially if he manages to carry on his momentum from Paris in Philly.
For now, the 76ers and Yabusele remain in wait-and-see mode, though both camps should be able to strike a common chord pretty soon. Hopefully, there would be no impediments to his foray into the Philadelphia faithful.