Adieu, Dancing Bear.
Guerschon Yabusele has reportedly agreed to terms on a two-year, $6 million deal with the New York Knicks, thus ending the Frenchman’s tenure with the Sixers. ESPN’s Shams Charania was the first to report the deal.
Yabusele was exceptional in his return to the NBA. After spending five years overseas, the hulking forward returned stateside to bet on himself and prove he belonged. He did that — in a much bigger role than anyone would’ve anticipated.
While the team signed Yabusele hoping he’d fill a void at the 4, he wound up spending the bulk of the season playing small-ball 5. With Joel Embiid and Andre Drummond missing significant time, Yabusele filled in admirably at the center position. For the season, he averaged 11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 38.0% from deep in 70 games.
Yabusele was a big asset to the team’s locker room as well. He battled multiple injuries and his minutes were at times sporadic when Embiid or Drummond were able to suit up. Through it all, Yabusele never complained and was an exemplary teammate. He played hard every night and gave the Sixers all he had, despite being part of a completely lost season. He became an easy fan favorite.
While the Sixers could’ve matched this offer using their taxpayer midlevel exception, it would’ve been tricky without knowing how much restricted free agent Quentin Grimes was going to command. Though Grimes’ options appear to be dwindling, re-signing the soon-to-be 30-year-old Yabusele and somehow losing the 25-year-old Grimes would’ve been a much worse scenario.
The team did agree to terms with forward Trendon Watford on a minimum deal, so the TPLME ($5.7 million) is still in play for the Sixers.
