Coming into the offseason, the Philadelphia 76ers had some tough decisions to make over the futures of Guerschon Yabusele and Quentin Grimes. Ultimately, Daryl Morey opted to part with Yabusele, leading him to sign with the New York Knicks.
During a recent discussion with “Sixers on SI,” Philadelphia’s sophomore guard, Jared McCain, shared his disappointment at seeing Yabsuele leave. McCain noted how he’d formed a friendship with the impressive forward throughout last season.
“Man, I’m gonna miss him, that’s one of the best people I’ve ever been around,” McCain said. “I could go to him for anything; a lot of my teammates are like that, but him, I gravitated to a lot. He was just super nice, just a good person and fun to play with, also another great energy person, so I’m sad to see him go.”
According to Cleaning The Glass, McCain and Yabusele spent 589 possessions on the court together last season. During those possessions, the Sixers were -1.6 points per 100 possessions worse than their average production.
Of course, McCain and Yabusele likely bonded behind the scenes, during travel, team practices, and so forth. This is likely McCain’s first taste of the business side of the NBA.
Sixers Made Low Offer to Yabusele
During a recent appearance on SK Week TV, Yabusele revealed Daryl Morey had made him a low-ball offer.
“I was like, ‘Okay, if they want to resign me and then they give me something good, I will come back for sure. And if they want me to leave, then I will leave,’” Yabusele said. “I didn’t have any hard feelings or a hard time. But they almost didn’t make a real offer. They did, but it was really low. So, to be transparent, I felt like, ‘Oh my God, you guys, it seems like you don’t really want me to stay.’ It was a situation, but no hard feelings. I’m always thankful for them. They gave me my second chance.”
Yabusele will now compete for a championship as a member of the Knicks rotation. He will likely anchor their second unit’s front court and should thrive in Mike Brown’s uptempo style offense. Furthermore, Yabusele’s defensive upside will be a significant boost to a Knicks team that struggled for bench production last season.
Yabusele is Pleased to be With New York
In the same interview with SK Week, Yabusele shared his excitement to be teaming up with the Knicks.
“I think the Knicks was a great decision,” Yabusele said. “Because I feel like their team really matches my DNA to fight hard…What I like about the team, is what they did this season…This could be a good chance and opportunity to play there.”
Yabusele played in 70 games for the Sixers last season. He averaged 11 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists, shooting 50% from the field. If he can have a similar impact for the Knicks, Morey may regret letting him leave to join a conference rival.
After all, if the Sixers can get healthy, they too will be pushing to come out of the Eastern Conference.
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