Guerschon Yabusele formerly of the New York Knicks
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Guerschon Yabusele formerly of the New York Knicks
It was clear for much of the season that the New York Knicks‘ bargain signing of big man Guerschon Yabusele, which seemed like a shrewd move when New York plucked him from the Sixers after a bounce-back 2024-25 season, was just not going to work out. Yabusele played i 41 games this year for the Knicks, but averaged only 8.9 minutes and 2.7 points. The team was not happy with him, and the feeling was mutual–Yabusele wanted to play.
At the trade deadline, the Knicks were able to find him a new home, but there was a catch. In dealing Yabusele to Chicago for Dalen Terry, who was then shipped off to New Orleans for Jose Alvarado, the Bulls requested that Yabusele agree to preemptively decline his 2026-27 contract option, making him a free agent after the season. It was a dangerous gamble for Yabusele, who won’t be able to recoup that money in free agency this summer.
(At least not in the NBA. Yabusele could return to Europe, though not at anything close to $5.8 million).
But so eager was Yabusele to get out of Madison Square Garden that he agreed to cut that year off his contract.
Guerschon Yabusele: ‘Passion Is More Than Just the Money’
In explaining the decision, Yabusele said he just could not bear sitting on the Knicks’ bench any longer.
“We can always see the side of the money and talk about it, but at the end of the day the passion is more than just the money. It’s being out there, missing the feeling of being out there, offense, defense. Just competing at a high level because I’m a competitor first,” Yabusele said in an interview with SNY.
“…. The situation with New York was a little bit different for me because I wasn’t really playing, so being able to be on another team and try to bring value on the court was really important. I was just missing being out there on the court, making mistakes, learning from it and trying to get better.”
Knicks Wound Up Happy With Jose Alvarado
Yabusele never had a cross word for New York or the Knicks–he is a veteran of four NBA teams now, as well as international teams in France, China and Spain, and knows well how the business of basketball works. He learned the hard way when he was a first-round pick of the Celtics but fell out in Boston over his conditioning and lost his spot in the NBA altogether.
Yabusele knows his decision cost himself money, but in the end, he sees it as working out for him. In two games, he has played 29.5 minutes, with 13.5 points and 6.5 rebounds.
With Alvarado now in place on the Knicks, it’s worked out there, too.
“I mean the decision was, I wanna say pretty quick and easy,” Yabusele said. “For me to be able to have that second chance at the NBA and come back here, I had to take (a) risk. So I would say it was nothing new to me…. I was thinking about (amending my contract) and I thought that this was the best thing to do.”