Guerschon Yabusele joined the New York Knicks, and instantly got billed as the steal of the summer. Fewer than 15 games into the regular season, though, he’s already fighting for his job.
For much of the year, Yabusele has vacillated between disappointing, and utterly unplayable. He has helped the Knicks setting screens, and on the offensive glass. But the defense isn’t up to snuff, and he’s shooting under 26 percent from three.
The latter is particularly damning when so much of Yabusele’s appeal was rooted in conceptual floor-spacing. Shooting so poorly from three becomes an even bigger issue considering how much time he’s logging at power forward.
Encouraging signs are admittedly starting to bleed through. Yabusele is moving better on the defensive end, and the jumper, despite failing to fall, doesn’t look broken.
Still, it took Yabusele nearly one-fifth of the season to clear 15 minutes in a single game. That outing, which came against the Dallas Mavericks, was arguably his best. And he still missed all five three-pointers he took.
This is not the experience for which the Knicks signed up. And if Yabusele doesn’t make meaningful strides in the coming weeks, he could see his role entirely vanish.
The Knicks do not need this version of Yabusele
Even Yabusele playing slightly better may not be enough to secure his spot in the rotation. It would be one thing if he was exclusively playing center, where his peak mobility renders him an asset if he’s not making shots. But only around 56 percent of his court time has come without another big, and barely one-third of his minutes see him man the 5 without OG Anunoby on the floor.
To be absolutely certain, the center reps should always be there in some form. The Knicks are starting Mitchell Robinson alongside Karl-Anthony Towns when everyone’s healthy, and Mike Brown does not have another big man coming off the bench he trusts more than Yabusele.
Yet, even those looks at the 5 could dwindle. New York apparently intends to ramp up Robinson’s playing time over the course of the season. The more he’s on the floor, the less Yabusele is needed at the 5.
This becomes problematic for the soon-to-be 30-year-old. Minutes at the 4 could be harder to come by when Anunoby is back in the fold.
The Knicks are not in a position to pull back on OG’s playing time. And between the emergence of Landry Shamet plus the need to carve out more reps for a potentially disenchanted Josh Hart, it may make more sense for New York to downsize at full strength than turn to Yabusele-at-the-4 arrangements.
Yabusele’s greatest value to the Knicks may be as matching salary
If Yabusele’s shooting slump lasts long enough and his minutes continue to fluctuate, maybe dwindle, his most useful contribution to the Knicks may come as a trade asset. New York is light on expendable matching salary, and even as he struggles, plenty of teams won’t mind soaking up the $5.5 million he’s owed this year.
It’s much too early to guarantee that’s how this ends. Yabusele isn’t even trade-eligible until December 15.
At the same time, we have a large enough sample to raise the concern. If Yabusele isn’t more consistently helpful soon, the Knicks will have to start mapping out the rest of their season as if he won’t be an active part of it.