Guerschon Yabusele says the Sixers lowballed him in free agency

News broke this weekend that the Sixers offered Guerschon Yabusele just a one-year vet minimum contract before he bolted to the Knicks on a two-year, $12 million deal.

Naturally, that caused parts of Sixers Twitter to react like we just lost the second coming of Paul Millsap in his prime. Personally, I was too busy watching VJ Edgecombe absolutely dominate in his Summer League to care, but maybe we should all just take a deep breath, right?

Details emerge on Sixers lowball offer to Yabusele

Also — Yabusele said in a recent interview that the Sixers lowballed him in free agency. He wasn’t kidding. Heard the offer was only a $2.6 million minimum. https://t.co/YgMbMkmVPr

— Stefan Bondy (@SbondyNBA) July 5, 2025

Traitor: Guerschon Yabusele heads to New York after one year in Philly

Don’t get me wrong, Yabusele was a nice piece last year. He gave you 11 points, 5.6 rebounds, and some solid defense in a rotation role. That’s cool and all but let’s not pretend this guy was locking up All-Stars or had the potential to swing a playoff game.

It’s almost like Sixers fans are so used to mediocrity, they can’t handle the idea of letting go of a role player.

“How could we let him walk?”

Uh, because we’re trying to win a championship and not hand out mid-level contracts to glue guys who aren’t even great fits for this roster.

This Sixers front office isn’t perfect, but this ain’t the time to call them out

Look, I’ll be the first to call out Daryl Morey and this front office when they screw up. And yes, their penny-pinching habits and sketchy free agency history make it hard to trust them. But letting Yabusele walk for $6 million a year? That’s just smart cap management.

Yabu is a small ball 5 in a perfect world…

Here’s the real basketball reason I’m not losing sleep over Guerschon Yabusele: he’s a small-ball five, not a modern power forward. He’s not a plus defender—plain and simple. And that matters if you want to be one of those switchable, athletic wings who can hold your own against bigger bodies. He struggles to move his feet on the perimeter, and he’s not giving you rim protection on the back end either.

Yabusele was a fun guy to watch last season. He brought energy, some scoring pop, and definitely good vibes to a team that desperately needed them.

There’s no real spot for him on the current version of this roster. With the plethora of guards now on the roster, there needs to be plenty of bigger bodies who can switch and protect the rim to a certain extent.

So, let the Knicks overpay for someone who’s just going to add to the list of poor defenders New York has.

Join The Chase