Yabusele sees playing as much more important than money upon removing his 2026-27 player option.
Players in the NBA tend to commit to financial security, especially if the season hasn't going well for them.
New York Knicks / Schedule
But just last week, Guerschon Yabusele raised eyebrows of many within the league. It was reported that he removed the 2026-27 player option from his contract, allowing the New York Knicks to finally move him to the Chicago Bulls ahead of last Thursday's NBA trade deadline.
“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 told SNY's Ian Begley.
“… 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.”
Yabusele originally signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Knicks last offseason. But the 2025-26 season didn't go as planned for him, as he struggled to obtain playing time from head coach Mike Brown.
Reports suggest teams are hesitant to trade and absorb Yabusele's 2026-27 player option, which lets him earn a guaranteed $5.8 million. In the end, the French star himself adjusted to finally leave New York and seek new beginnings.
“I mean the decision was, I wanna say pretty quick and easy,” Yabusele added. “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.”
Right now, Yabusele is enjoying most of his time with the Bulls. In the two games he played thus far in Chicago, the big man is averaging 13.5 points, 6.5 boards, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks in 29.5 minutes of play.
That's significantly greater than the lowly 2.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.9 minutes he only registered across 41 games as a Knick earlier this season.
“I love it out there with the team, the guys. The coaches, they did a great job of welcoming me the best way they can,” Yabusele said. “Everybody’s telling me how happy they are for me to be out there on the team with them. It just makes it easy for me to have confidence and just feel good on the court.”
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