Since Media Day at the end of last month, all of our focus has been on the Sixers as they try to stage a significant year-to-year turnaround after last year's nightmarish 24-58 campaign.
Now that the Sixers have gotten back in the swing of things, with an Abu Dhabi trip in the books, three preseason contests out of the way and the start of the 2025-26 NBA season less than a week away, let's turn our attention to some old friends in new places for the first time in a while:
Guerschon Yabusele, New York Knicks
The Sixers signed Yabusele to a one-year, veteran's minimum contract late last offseason after a stellar run for Team France in the Olympics. He quickly became arguably the best story of the Sixers season, taking full advantage of a chance to return to the NBA after five years overseas.
Yabusele initially looked like a throw at the dartboard as the Sixers tried to fill a hole at power forward; he ended up logging most of his minutes as a small-ball center. Yabusele is viable at both spots and became a quality three-point shooter during his time away from the NBA, which paid massive dividends upon his return.
From the end of the 2024-25 Sixers season in April to the beginning of free agency at the end of June, many fans were worried about whether or not the Sixers would get priced out on Yabusele. They did not; his market ended up at the taxpayer's mid-level exception, which they could offer him. But the Sixers chose not to do so, and Yabusele's tenure with the team was cut short after just one season.
Yabusele did not go far, as he is now in an important position with the New York Knicks as they hope to finally get over the hump and win it all. New York appears primed to start Karl-Anthony Towns and Mitchell Robinson together full-time with Josh Hart coming off the bench. Yabusele will effectively be their third big, a particularly important position given the frequency with which Robinson has been unavailable during his career.
In the preseason, Yabusele has not enjoyed much success, not shooting the ball well on threes or twos in four exhibition appearances. As the only non-minimum acquisition the Knicks made this summer, Yabusele is still ticketed for a regular rotation role under new Knicks head coach Mike Brown.
MORE: Why Sixers chose not to match Knicks' offer to Yabusele
Al Horford, De'Anthony Melton and Seth Curry, Golden State Warriors
It had been clear for months that the 39-year-old Horford was ticketed for Golden State after Jayson Tatum's injury took the Boston Celtics out of title contention for the year. But because of perhaps the only restricted free agency more bizarre than that of Quentin Grimes, Golden State's slew of acquisitions in free agency could not become official until right before Media Day. Jonathan Kuminga eventually settled on a balloon deal that makes him a human trade exception, and it allowed Horford's deal to finally be made official.
Horford's departure from Boston to Golden State should be much smoother than the time he left the Celtics for the Sixers. He is a fantastic fit for what the Warriors love to do as a willing and able passer with defensive versatility, and Horford also provides the high-caliber three-point shooting at center that the Warriors have never had before.
Exactly what Horford's role will look like remains to be seen; Golden State has a number of interesting bigs still on roster and will certainly prioritize getting Horford through the regular season in one piece above anything else. He could start or come off the bench, his minutes load will be capped somewhere and he should miss games. But it will all be intentional, with the months of April, May and June in mind.
Two of Golden State's other long-awaited signings were former Sixers. The first is Melton, signed to a one-year deal with the Warriors last season and traded to the Brooklyn Nets after suffering a season-ending torn ACL. Melton had played very well with Golden State before the injury, and a reunion makes a lot of sense. Melton is not expected to be ready for the start of the season, but he should be back on the floor with a chance to earn a rotation role eventually.
Then there is Seth Curry, whose older brother Stephen coincidentally already plays for the Warriors. Curry is likely going to be waived from his training camp deal before the start of the season and then re-signed a few weeks into the season; Golden State does not quite have enough room under their hard cap to sign Stephen's younger brother to a minimum deal for the entire season, but a prorated deal shortly after the season starts will fit.
Jared Butler, Phoenix Suns
The Sixers made an extremely rare move to trade for a two-way player when they acquired Butler from the Washington Wizards last season, though that deal was arguably more about shedding Reggie Jackson's salary and turning a low-upside first-round pick into four premium second-rounders. Butler was a valuable asset to the Sixers over his two-month cameo with the team thanks to his natural skills as a floor general and organizer.
Butler ended up signing a non-guaranteed deal with Phoenix as the Suns look to patch together a point guard rotation. Leading an undermanned Suns squad against a Los Angeles Lakers team featuring everyone other than LeBron James, Butler absolutely erupted on Tuesday night, scoring 35 points to go with nine assists and seven rebounds in a win:
Butler is a brilliant player and trustworthy ball-handler. He will always be limited defensively despite good effort. The swing skill will be pull-up shooting; his mechanics have always been clean but he has to force defenses to go over on screens rather than daring him to take shots he would rather not attempt. Butler's aggressiveness on that front increased in his final games with the Sixers, and that at least seemed to carry over on Tuesday night.
MORE: Nick Nurse: 'there's some chance' Joel Embiid plays in Sixers' preseason finale
Cameron Payne, Indiana Pacers
Payne, whose two-month stint with the Sixers to end the 2023-24 season went better than anybody could have guessed, spent last year in New York and had a productive regular season followed by a disappointing playoff run. Delon Wright took his rotation spot as the Knicks went on a run to the Eastern Conference Finals.
Fast forward to this month: Pacers backup point guard T.J. McConnell -- the oldest of friends -- suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out for the beginning of the season. Indiana had Wright signed to a training camp deal, but in need of more traditional ball-handling they waived the younger brother of former Sixers wing Dorell. In Wright's place, the Pacers signed Payne, whose fortunes quickly turned -- from potentially out of the league to vying for a backup point guard job on the reigning champions of the Eastern Conference.
MORE: NBA executives share Sixers thoughts in GM Survey
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