The Chicago Bulls landed Guerschon Yabusele at the trade deadline, sending Dalen Terry to the Knicks in exchange. It's a deal that wouldn't have happened if it weren't for Yabusele himself, who stunningly waived his $5.8 player option for the 2026-27 season to help facilitate a trade. Why did he do that? It's simple, actually — he wanted to play.
New York signed Yabusele to a two-year, $12 million deal over the summer after his return to the NBA with the Sixers in the 2024-25 season, following an impressive Olympics run with France. The Knicks were thrilled to land the forward, but he averaged only 2.7 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.9 minutes per contest across 41 games before the trade.
Yabusele didn't fit in New York, a mistake that the Knicks' front office realized too late. His player option complicated a deadline trade, but the 30-year-old did their organization a massive favor by waiving it, meaning he's now on an expiring contract. He also did himself a favor, though.
In an interview with SNY, Yabusele said that "being able to be on another team and try to bring value on the court was really important." He missed playing, being on the floor, and, in his words, "trying to get better."
Yabusele is happy about his new opportunity with the Bulls
The forward made his Bulls debut 24 hours after he watched from the sideline as the Knicks beat the Nuggets at Madison Square Garden in double overtime. He was traded after that and played a season-high 33 minutes in Chicago's loss to Toronto. Yabusele had a season-high 15 points (6-of-11 from the field, 3-of-6 from three), 11 rebounds, three assists, and two steals.
He didn't shoot the ball as well on Saturday as he did in his debut, but Yabusele still had 12 points (4-of-13), two rebounds, two blocks, and one steal in 26 minutes against the Nuggets. Even his 12 points were more than he scored in a single game for the Knicks.
Yabusele has played more in the past two games for Chicago than he did in the final nine games he appeared in for New York combined. He has gotten exactly what he came to the Bulls for. As he told SNY, his new team has made him feel welcome and confident on the floor.
Now that he's on an expiring deal, he'll be an unrestricted free agent this summer. He wasn't getting the chance to showcase his talent in New York, but now that he's in Chicago, Yabusele can prove that he's worthy of staying around in the NBA, whether that be with the Bulls or another team. So far, he's done just that.