Guerschon Yabusele arrived in New York this summer and had all of us kinda excited as one of only two free-agent additions made by the Knicks, along with microwave-scorer-turned-ice-cube Jordan Clarkson.
Then, Yabu started to play a decreasing number of minutes and to have a lesser impact each passing day since training camp.
On Tuesday, Yabusele didn’t even grace the court, earning a solid DPN-CD in the Knicks’ 132–101 trouncing of the Washington Wizards, but he still found a way to catch attention.
It happened after the game was over, however, as Yabu was asked and opened up on his questionable future in New York with the trade deadline right around the corner.
Yabusele has appeared in 41 games this season, averaging just 2.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in under nine minutes per game.
Following the win, Yabusele addressed multiple reports linking him to EuroLeague clubs, including Panathinaikos, Hapoel Tel Aviv, and Real Madrid.
“I ain’t closing no door on nothing. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I don’t know what tomorrow’s going to be,” Yabusele said. “So right now, I can tell you nothing has been discussed or signed or anything like that. I’m a Knicks player at the end of the day.”
SDNA’s Sotiris Vetakis has reported that Panathinaikos is in advanced discussions with Yabusele’s camp. The Athens-based club is seemingly just waiting on developments from New York before finalizing any deal, perhaps just in case an actual NBA trade emerges before Thursday’s deadline.
“There’s been teams calling,” Yabusele said on Tuesday. “I feel like the report was just them saying they want me, and then everybody thought that I signed something already. No, nothing like that. But there’s some teams out there that we heard are getting ready to sign me if I go back that way. We’ll see what happens.”
Sport5, meanwhile, reported that Israel-side Hapoel Tel Aviv is in direct talks with Yabusele’s representatives, with a move there requiring the Knicks to buy him out.
Yabusele himself acknowledged Real Madrid would be among the first teams he’d speak to if he returned overseas.
“It was hard to come back to the NBA [but once I was here], my mind definitely wanted to stay there, but we’ll see when the opportunity presents itself. It’s definitely going to be a conversation to have and see what the options are in Europe. We’ll see how it goes. I will never say never to anything,” Yabusele said. “Madrid is going to be, to be honest, one of the first teams that we’re going to have the conversation first. I’m not closing my door on anything else, but you know, my house is in Madrid.”
The 30-year-old signed a two-year, $11.3 million deal with the Knicks last summer and holds a $5.8 million player option for the 2026–27 season.
According to Marc Stein and Ian Begley, New York is actively exploring smaller trades involving Yabusele’s expiring salary to clear long-term cap flexibility, with a major move—read: trading for Giannis—not expected to happen this deadline.
The Knicks have reportedly engaged with the San Antonio Spurs, New Orleans Pelicans (both per HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto) and Phoenix Suns (per Forbes’ Evan Sidery) on potential trade packages that could offload Yabusele.