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Former Celtics forward makes stunning choice to facilitate trade to new team
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- Former Celtics forward makes stunning choice to facilitate trade to new team
Guerschon Yabusele earned himself a two-year contract with the Knicks last offseason after an impressive NBA comeback season with the Philadelphia 76ers . The former Celtics big man looked poised to be a big factor in the Knicks bench rotation after signing a two-year, $11.5 million contract with a player option for the 2026-27 season worth $5.8 million.
However, Yabusele's stint in New York did not go according to plan this year. The power forward struggled mightily with his shot (39 percent from the field, 29 percent from 3-point range) and only played 8.9 minutes per game under new head coach Mike Brown.
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The Knicks were shopping him heavily before the trade deadline, but his 2026-27 player option ended up being a massive deterrent in finding a new home for him, per reports. Ultimately, Yabusele ended up being dealt to the Bulls on trade deadline day with a surprise twist: Yabusele removed the 2026-27 player option from his contract to make the deal happen. The 30-year-old has never made big money in the NBA ($10 million career earnings) so giving up that type of money stunned many people around the NBA. Yabusele explained the choice in an interview with Ian Begley of SNY.
"We can always see the side of the money and talk about it, but at the end of the day the passion is more than just the money. It's being out there, missing the feeling of being out there, offense, defense. Just competing at a high level because I'm a competitor first," Yabusele told SNY. "… The situation with New York was a little bit different for me because I wasn't really playing, so being able to be on another team and try to bring value on the court was really important. I was just missing being out there on the court, making mistakes, learning from it and trying to get better."
The Knicks took advantage of Yabusele's decision to help improve their team right away. New York ended up acquiring Dalen Terry in the trade for Yabusele with the Bulls and used his salary to help the team acquire Jose Alvarado from the Pelicans for Terry and two second-round picks.
Yabusele also ended up getting his wish with a fresh start to play more in Chicago . The big man has started two of his first three game with the Bulls and is averaging 10.0 points and 5.0 rebounds while shooting 42.1 percent from 3-point range. Chicago has created some opportunity in the frontcourt by trading away Nikola Vucevic to the Celtics, which should give Yabusele a chance to prove himself again after a disappointing showing with the Knicks.
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"I mean the decision was, I wanna say pretty quick and easy," Yabusele told SNY. "For me to be able to have that second chance at the NBA and come back here, I had to take [a] risk. So I would say it was nothing new to me… I was thinking about [amending my contract] and I thought that this was the best thing to do."
The Celtics will have a chance to face Yabusele in his new uniform on Wednesday night when they host the Bulls at TD Garden in the final game before the All-Star Break.
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