Everyone expects the New York Knicks to make a deal ahead of the trade deadline. Even if it isn’t for Giannis Antetokounmpo, even if it’s just a smaller move on the margins, they are going to do something. In the event they do nothing, we’ll all know why: because they gave Guerschon Yabusele a player option for next season.
We have come a long way from people declaring the 30-year-old “stretch” big man one of the offseason’s best bargains. Yabusele is basically out of the Knicks’ rotation, and has seldom looked good when he does get minutes. The team would love a mulligan on his contract, but will settle for a trade partner to take him on.
As it turns out, though, finding someone to absorb his salary is proving ultra-difficult.
The Knicks must attach sweeteners to Yabusele
Any deal that sees New York get off Yabusele’s contract is going to cost them additional assets. That’s not speculation or an educated guess so much as an already-proven fact.
According to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, the Knicks pitched San Antonio on a package built around Yabusele and Pacome Dadiet in exchange for Jeremy Sochan. They were rebuffed because the Spurs were not “willing to take on Yabusele’s $5.78 million player option” for next season.
This is going to be a common theme when the Knicks speak with other teams. Including Yabusele’s deal as part of a larger deal construction is one thing. Attempting to move him as a standalone piece or alongside Dadiet is tantamount to dangling net-negative value.
Prospective trade partners will want something to lease out their roster space both this season and next. And those asks are only going to increase when you consider how few teams are actually willing to take on money. More than half the league is either in the tax or close enough to it that adding payroll for someone they may not play won’t come close to topping their list of priorities.
This could be the catalyst behind the Knicks doing nothing
Most still assume the Knicks will attach a second-round to Yabusele so they can get a deal done. But what if that’s not enough?
Other teams have all the leverage. The Chicago Bulls just got two second-round picks for taking on Dario Saric’s expiring contract. Yabusele has an extra year on his deal. If it doesn’t cost three second-rounders to dump him, it may require New York forking over two intriguing seconds.
This is without even considering that the Knicks are trying to turn Yabusele into an actual player. Sure, they have an incentive to just get his money off the books, and create wiggle room beneath the second apron. But if they’re looking to acquire someone along the lines of Naji Marshall, Yves Missi, or Jose Alvarado, they must also provide compensation for those players, on top of attaching sweeteners to an underwater contract.
All in all, if the Knicks want to upgrade from Yabusele while getting rid of him, it could realistically cost them three or four seconds. It isn’t clear whether they’ll pony up that much just to address the ninth or 10th slot in the rotation. They might prefer to let the situation ride into the summer, and preserve every possible draft pick they have for an offseason Giannis Antetokounmpo pursuit.
Perhaps moving Yabusele's money won’t cost this much. If it does, there’s a real chance New York does nothing at the deadline—all thanks to a sub-$6 million player option nobody thought twice about a few months ago.