As NBA trade market shifts, Guerschon Yabusele’s Knicks role draws intrigue
Knicks head coach Mike Brown acknowledged Tuesday that backup Guerschon Yabusele simply won’t have enough opportunities to find his rhythm in a deep frontcourt rotation.
“I think everyone is still learning,” Brown said, referring to Yabusele before the game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday. “At the end of the day, there’s only so many minutes left. I’m not sure it’s all his fault, quote unquote.”
The Knicks used the mid-level exception — their largest available mechanism for adding free agents — to sign Yabusele to a two-year contract worth more than $10 million last offseason.
Yet the French forward, who joined New York after a one-year stint with the Philadelphia 76ers, struggled to gain a foothold in Brown’s rotation. His minutes have been sporadic and his production minimal: Yabusele shot 1 of 6 from the floor for five points and two rebounds in 10 minutes in Sunday’s blowout win over Brooklyn. In eight games, he’s averaging 2.4 points and 2.6 rebounds on just 25 percent shooting from the field and 22.5 percent from three in about 11 minutes per game — the 10th man in the pecking order.
“That’s the case sometimes. I bring it in, I take it out. It’s a little hard to get into a rhythm doing that. I have to be responsible for that, too,” Brown said Tuesday. “And I think over time, because he’s a very good basketball player, he’ll show it. He needs a few minutes to show it, and I don’t know if those are always there for him.”
Yabusele’s situation becomes even more pressing amid shifting dynamics within the league, where several Western Conference teams once expected to compete instead tend to sell out early in the season.
The Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks and Sacramento Kings each stumbled, failing to reach the five-win mark despite high expectations. Dallas, for example, fired general manager Nico Harrison on Tuesday after the Luka Dončić-Anthony Davis experiment derailed into another injury-riddled disappointment. Sacramento, meanwhile, appears to be headed for a full-scale rebuild following last year’s trade of De’Aaron Fox to San Antonio, while Memphis continues to navigate the current turmoil surrounding Ja Morant, who clashed with the coaching staff and recently admitted he had “lost his joy” for the game – echoing Jimmy Butler’s comments before his own eventual departure from Miami.
The Knicks, of course, lack the type of first-round assets typically needed to pounce when rebuilding teams start selling. Their cabinet is lighter after sending five first-round picks to Brooklyn in the Mikal Bridges deal, but they still hold Washington’s protected top eight in 2026 (likely converted into two favorable second-round picks) and six additional second-round picks to work with if the right opportunity presents itself.
However, their flexibility is capped. The Knicks can’t get back more salary than they send in a trade, making Yabusele’s $5.5 million salary — the seventh highest on the roster — a potential pivot point as front-office decision-makers weigh the balance between rotation depth and roster value.
Yabusele told the Daily News he feels good in his current role as he continues to learn the new system.
“I’m just trying to come here and learn and adapt perfectly so I can try to help the team,” he said on Nov. 3. “Just out there, trying to be aware when I’m on the court – or even if I’m on the bench – of what the team is doing and trying to find a way to have a positive impact on the game and the team.”
Brown’s position has not changed. He’ll continue to do what’s best for the team, even if it means New York’s biggest offseason signing remains a situational rotation player.
“He might play several minutes sometimes, he might play a few. He might not play at all,” Brown said after the Knicks’ skid extended to three games following their loss in Chicago. “And that’s part of what our guys have to accept until we can figure out what we’re going to do.”
