EThis has been a very complicated season for Guerschon Yabusele. The French power forward with a past at Real Madrid He doesn’t find his place in the Knickswhere he does not have the prominence he expected, he has lost confidence and has even found himself with some controversy due to his possible overweight.
The French player arrived in New York from the Sixerswhere he had had an outstanding year. After dazzling the NBA franchises at the Paris Games, with media stopper for LeBron James included, he left Madrid at the last minute in the summer of 2024 and took advantage of the many injuries in Philadelphia to get noticed. He had averages of 11.0 points with 38.0% in triples, 5.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists.
Guerschon Yabusele, defended by Hugo González.
He had taken a risk by embarking on his second adventure in the NBA – he was already with the Celtics between 2017 and 2019 – even having to pay to leave the Madrid team and lose money. The relationship with the Sixers was for a single season, but the plan worked out well: perform at a high level to earn a longer and more lucrative contract. Although it was difficult to find it, He ended up with the Knicks, signing for two years for 12 million dollars.
I’m not going to lie: It’s hard.
A player with his profile could fit in New York: capable of opening the field with his triples, going to the rim with power, posting thanks to his size, loading the rebound… But none of it is doing. In 25 games, it barely averages 9.8 minutes and only on two occasions has he gone over 15. His statistics, such as his time on the track, have been reduced by a third compared to last year: 3.3 points with a poor 29.2% in triples, 2.2 rebounds and 0.4 assists. Only one match has exceeded ten points.
One of his worst games
“I’m not going to lie: It’s difficult”recently recognized a Yabusele who He did not have minutes in the NBA Cup final and this morning he had a terrible performance in the Knicks’ long-suffering victory in Indiana. ended with three points and 1/9 in field goals. In the 11 minutes he was on the floor, his team lost by 17. Hasty, unfocused, eager to do well.
Guerschon Yabusele, in the official photo session of the Knicks.
As if its performance were not already a problem, The power forward has also had to deal with criticism for being overweight. When the Knicks made their player metrics official, They gave him 128 kilos. Nobody on the squad weighed more. And in the entire NBA, only five playersall of them well above their 2.01 meters. He had to come out and defend himself: “Last year it wasn’t a problem, so why is it this year? Also, “I weigh less.” The Sixers, however, had weighed him at 117 kilos.
Given Yabusele’s poor performance and his difficult fit into Mike Brown’s schemes, The Knicks could place him in a transfer trying to make a move that will help them dominate the Eastern Conference. The Frenchman’s future in New York does not seem promising and we will have to see in the NBA. In the summer he has a player option for $5.7 million. In Europe, more than one team would open the doors for him.
