The New York Knicks celebrated their savvy signing of French forward Guerschon Yabusele this summer as they loaded up for a run at the NBA Finals. What Yabusele is realizing is that he should have signed somewhere other than New York to continue his career.
The career arc of Yabusele is not a common one, but it is an impressive one. He entered the league in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft, selected by the Boston Celtics and dubbed the “Dancing Bear” because of his agility at his size and build. Ultimately, he didn’t prove ready for the NBA and he left to play overseas.
After years in Europe and a breakout performance for the French National Team in the 2024 Paris Olympics, Yabusele earned his way back into the NBA last season with the Philadlephia 76ers. He turned into one of the few bright spots on a moribund 76ers team wracked by injuries, and it set up Yabusele for an important summer.
Where would he sign now that he had earned a full NBA contract? Should he stay with the 76ers even with their injured veterans coming back? Would another bad team allow him to rack up touches and stats to earn an even larger contract the following year? Now 30 years old, he may have just one real chance to secure a contract above the minimum in the NBA.
Yabusele chose to prioritize contention, signing with the New York Knicks for most of the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception, making $5.5 million this season before a $5.8 million player option next season. That is real money, and perhaps it was the most available on the market, but it seems likely that he took a smaller salary in hopes of competing on a great team.
On the one hand, the New York Knicks do look like a great team. Jalen Brunson is yet again a fringe MVP candidate, OG Anunoby is playing at an All-Star level on both ends of the court, and young players like Tyler Kolek are stepping up. New head coach Mike Brown even saved the Josh Hart fit and has inserted him back into the starting lineup. The Knicks are 20-9 heading into Christmas Day and the favorite to come out of the Eastern Conference.
The only problem is that Yabusele doesn’t appear to be a part of that success.
Yabusele is an afterthought for the Knicks
If being on a contender was a goal, it’s a check. If contributing to a contender was actually the goal, it’s a much fainter check. If contributing to a contender in a way that earns him a larger contract next summer was the goal, erase it altogether.
Yabusele is playing just 9.6 minutes per game and has been out of the rotation entirely a handful of times. He is rarely playing next to Karl-Anthony Towns, a stretch-big who would open up space for Yabusele to work inside. Instead, he is primarily playing as the lone big himself, which is hardly the role he is best equipped to fill.
The rehabilitation of Josh Hart as a high-minute impact player and the leaning into two-center lineups has left very little room for Yabusele. He is also not being fed when he does make it onto the court, with a small 14.1 percent usage rate. To be fair to the Knicks’ coaching staff, Yabusele is shooting 39.4 percent from the field and 30.6 percent from deep — he isn’t earning the playing time when he does make it onto the court.
Understanding the road not traveled is not easy, but it is extremely likely a different path would have yielded better results. Perhaps returning to returning to the 76ers would have meant remaining in a system where he played very well last season; they are hardly flush with power forwards themselves. Perhaps a lower-tier team needing more offensive production would have been a better place to build his resume.
In New York, Yabusele hasn’t had time to catch his rhythm and isn’t being paired with the right players to excel. Instead, he is filling a very small role as the third power forward and the third center, and he’s not getting the ball when he is on the court no matter the combination. The Knicks are winning, too, so it’s unlikely to change anytime soon.
Yabusele will try to rediscover his shot and make the most of his opportunities. Things could turn around in New York. Right now, however, it looks like he made a grave mistake this summer.