Sixers forward Guerschon Yabusele
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Boston Celtics v Philadelphia 76ers
Guerschon Yabusele was a bright spark in an otherwise gloomy season for the Philadelphia 76ers. The impressive forward was making his NBA return after drastically improving his game in the EuroLeague.
Yabusele signed a one-year contract with the Sixers. Therefore, he’s set to hit the unrestricted free agent market this summer. According to a recent report from Marc Stein and Jake Fischer, the Sixers could struggle to retain Yabusele.
“With a trio of Sixers veterans — Kelly Oubre Jr., Andre Drummond and Eric Gordon — all expected to soon activate the player options in their respective contracts for next season, it looks as though it will be increasingly challenging for Philadelphia to re-sign beloved big man Guerschon Yabusele,” The duo reported. “The former first-round pick from France, who played last season on a minimum deal, is projected to have a strong market in free agency.”
Yabusele was one of the few front-court players who made an impact for the Sixers. His rebounding and scoring ensured the second unit had a reliable punch on both sides of the ball. Losing Yabusele in free agency will be a tough blow for a Sixers team in need of some front-court improvements.
Yabusele Knows What he Wants in Free Agency
During a recent interview with HoopsHype, Yabusele explained what he’s looking for on his next deal.
“Now that I’ve been on the team where I played and a lot of minutes too, I want to be in a situation where I can play too,” Yabusele said. “I’m not asking to play 40 minutes a game. That would be crazy. But just to be in the right situation for me, for the team, having a goal that we can achieve and have a bunch of guys looking to the right direction.”
He continued.
“And if it’s with the 76ers, I’ll be more than happy. This has been a great, great season and time for me. The fans have been showing me nothing but love, even the organization. If I have to go back there, I’d be more than happy. And then if you’ve got to be somewhere else, I’d be happy, too. I just want to be on a team where we compete and we have the same goals.”
In 70 games, Yabusele averaged 11 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists, shooting 50.1% from the field and 38% from deep.
Morey Wants to Keep Yabusele With The Sixers
When speaking to the media, as part of a recent news conference, Daryl Morey admitted he would like to keep Yabusele around long-term.
“We love what Guerschon was able to bring,” Morey said, via Ky Carlin of Sixers Wire. “I think that was a great job by our scouting department. A great job by the coaching staff getting the most out of him. Just like Paul (George), he got pressed into some roles that were a little different from what he thought. We thought he was gonna play more of the 4 and he’s excelled there. He gave us a lot of minutes at the 5 as well.”
Morey could still find a way to keep Yabusele. However, any moves to keep the impressive forward around will need to wait until after the 2025 NBA Draft. Once that’s in the rearview, Morey can begin planning how he’s going to re-tool a roster that drastically underperformed last season.