NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 24: Guerschon Yabusele #28 of the New York Knicks shoots against Neemias Queta #88 of the Boston Celtics during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden on October 24, 2025 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 24: Guerschon Yabusele #28 of the New York Knicks shoots against Neemias Queta #88 of the Boston Celtics during the second quarter at Madison Square Garden on October 24, 2025 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
A year ago, Knicks forward Guerschon Yabusele made a triumphant return to the NBA after having spent the previous five season bouncing around international leagues in France, China and Spain. Yabusele landed with the Sixers and in 70 games, showed he still has a place in the NBA, averaging 11.0 points and 5.6 rebounds on 50.1% shooting in 70 games.
That came after two failed seasons with the Celtics, who had made him the No. 16 overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft. Yabusele could never quite master a role–nor could he master his conditioning–in Boston and for a long while, it looked as though he might not get back to the league.
But he signed with the Knicks in the offseason, as part of the team’s efforts to bolster the bench and gain an advantage in the watered-down Eastern Conference.
As Yabusele said after signing in New York, the thought he might actually improve with the Knicks: “There might still be room. I’m coming in here every day just telling myself that I’m trying to learn something. These guys have the experience of being in the Eastern Conference finals, but, obviously, I’ve been in the NBA. I’m coming here trying to learn from those guys.”
Guerschon Yabusele on a 2-Year Contract
But 24 games into the 2025-26 season, that’s not quite the case. Yabusele again looks like a bad fit with his NBA team, as the Knicks have steadily rolled back his playing time. He has played 10 minutes or more just once in the team’s last seven games, and is averaging 3.1 points and 2.2 rebounds this year.
Yabusele is on a two-year, $11.7 million contract, which makes him easily tradeable. In fact, according to team insider Stefan Bondy of the New York Post, Yabusele is probably not long for the Knicks as things stand.
Wrote Bondy this week: “If I were listing the Knicks most likely to be dealt before the February trade deadline, the French native is probably No. 1. It’s not that he’d bring back value — quite the opposite, actually — but rather because his situation in New York has gotten so off track.”
Mike Brown
GettyCoach Mike Brown of the Knicks.
Knicks Bench Still in Flux
The goal with Yabusele was to add him to the Knicks bench mix alongside scorer Jordan Clarkson and give the team both injury insurance and a depth advantage. But Clarkson has had his struggles, too, averaging a career-low 9.9 points on 43.0% shooting and 28.9% 3-point shooting.
The Knicks bench has seen Josh Hart move back into a starting role, and in his wake, coach Mike Brown still appears to be feeling his way around his options.
His goal, ultimately, is to figure out which of his reserves he can trust by testing them in different ways and preserving his top players for later in the year.
“I don’t want to gas my guys this early in the season,” Brown said recently. “If the minutes can be respectable across the board, especially at this time of the year, then we can increase the minutes come playoff time or late in the season. Getting these guys reps in case someone gets hurt or in case we have to throw someone in the game. There is a comfort level that they have, and not only that they have, but I have, the staff has and everybody else has with someone new on the floor.”
That comfort level, though, doesn’t appear to be in place for Yabusele, at least not yet.