This will surely irritate Philadelphia 76ers fans. Guerschon Yabusele revealed the 76ers made him a low-ball offer before he signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the New York Knicks.
In an interview with SKWEEK TV, Yabusele, who was a fan-favorite in his only season in Philadelphia, revealed he wanted to return but the 76ers front office failed to make an acceptable offer.
“Leaving Philly was not a major key. I was thinking to myself, ‘Oh my god, I could go back.’ I didn’t really have any issues over there like I want to leave, no,” said Yabusele. “I was like, OK, if they want to re-sign me and then if they give me something good, I would come back, for sure. And if they want me to leave, then I would leave.
“I didn’t have any hard feelings or hard times, but they almost didn’t make really like an offer. They did but it was really, really low, so to be really transparent. I felt like, oh my god, you guys, seems like you don’t really want me to stay.”
Yabu says the Sixers lowballed him 😳 pic.twitter.com/hzl0NQ97wM
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) July 4, 2025
Yabusele signed a one-year, $2.1 million deal with the 76ers after helping lead France to a silver medal in the 2024 Summer Olympics, where they lost to Joel Embiid and Team USA in the gold medal game. Nicknamed “Yabu,” he started 43 of the 70 games he appeared in, averaging 11 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists while bringing infectious energy and intensity to the court. He also shot 50.1% from the field and 38% from three.
The 76ers could’ve brought Yabusele back on the same $12 million contract the Knicks offered him, but instead signed power forward Trendon Watford to a two-year, $5.3 million deal. Despite not returning to Philadelphia, there are no hard feelings.
“I’m always thankful for them, they gave me my second chance. Everything goes from them,” said Yabusele. “I will always be thankful to be able to be part of their franchise, to win there and then play the season. I will thank them from the bottom of my heart. Me and my family really happy about everything they did for us. It was no hard feelings.”
He added: “It was just at that time, I was thinking like, OK, maybe they don’t want to. And then the Knicks came with a good offer but also I feel like the team and everything that they had to give us was a good choice.”
Yabusele will be an important bench piece for the Knicks next season as they look to build on a campaign that fell two games short of reaching the NBA Finals.
Yabusele was previously drafted by the Boston Celtics with the 16th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft. He played two seasons in Boston, averaging just 2.3 points per game before heading to Europe.
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