Guerschon Yabusele: No ‘hard feelings’ toward Sixers, but they made a ‘really, really low’ offer
Yabusele, who agreed to a two-year deal with the Knicks, said leaving the Sixers was "not a major key," but their offer didn't compare to New York's.
Guerschon Yabusele is appreciative of the 76ers.
But instead of re-signing with them, the power forward agreed to a deal with the New York Knicks. And it has nothing to do with the Eastern Conference finalist Knicks being a more successful team.
» READ MORE: The Sixers will soon find out if prioritizing Quentin Grimes over Guerschon Yabusele was the right move
“Leaving Philly was not a major key,” the French player said in an interview with SKWEEK TV, a streaming platform focused on European basketball.
“I was thinking to myself ‘Oh my god, I could go back,’” Yabusele continued. “I didn’t really have any issues over there. Like I want to leave, no. I was like, ‘OK, if they want to re-sign 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.’
“I didn’t have any hard feelings or hard time. But they almost didn’t make really like an offer. They did, but it was really, really low, to be really transparent. So it was I felt like, ‘Oh my god, you guys, it seems like you don’t really want me to stay, kind of.’ So it was a situation.”
That’s why Yabusele took a two-year, $12 million contract with the Knicks. The deal includes a player option for the second season, with New York using the taxpayer mid-level exception to acquire him.
The Sixers could have offered the same deal to the 29-year-old. But they first wanted to figure out what Quentin Grimes would command as a restricted free agent before focusing on a mid-level contract for Yabusele.
So the Sixers signed power forward Trendon Watford to a two-year, $5.3 million minimum-salary contract. The second year of the deal is a team option.
“But no hard feelings,” Yabusele said. “I’m always thankful, you know, for them. They gave me my second chance. Everything goes from them. I will always be thankful to be able to be part of their franchise, to win there, and then play the season.”
On Aug. 24, he signed a one-year, $2.1 million minimum-salary contract with the Sixers after helping lead France to a silver medal in the Paris Olympics.
» READ MORE: Source: Sixers agree to a two-way deal with forward Jabari Walker
Last season marked his second stint in the NBA.
Yabusele was selected 16th overall by the Boston Celtics in the 2016 draft. Instead of joining Boston, he signed a one-year deal with the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association.
He then played for the Celtics during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons and averaged 2.3 points, 1.4 rebounds, and 6.6 minutes in 74 games with five starts.
Afterward, Yabusele headed back overseas.
He is a more impactful NBA player this time around. The 6-foot-7, 280-pounder averaged career highs of 11 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 27.1 minutes this past season. Yabusele also shot a career-best 38.0% on three-pointers and made 43 starts in 70 games.