On Sunday, December 21, the Knicks hosted the Heat. Jalen Brunson led the team with 47 points in a 132-125 win vs. Miami. The Knicks are 20-8 in the 2025-26 season. That is the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.Â
At this point in the year, the Knicks are evaluating every part of their roster. One of their weak points to begin the season has been New York’s production from backup centers. Mitchell Robinson and Guerschon Yabusele have room for improvement. Knicks’ insider Ian Begley reported that Yabusele could be on the trade block this year. Begley said New York could look to trade him before February 5.
Guerschon Yabusele is on the trade block for the New York Knicks
Knicks Open To Trading Guerschon Yabusele Before Feb. 5 Deadline https://t.co/cAMBPPjwNc
— RealGM (@RealGM) December 22, 2025
In the 2016 NBA draft, Guerschon Yabusele was a first-round pick by the Celtics. He spent the first two seasons of his NBA career with Boston. The Celtics waived Yabusele in July 2019. For the next five seasons, he played overseas in other professional basketball leagues. During the 2024 Olympics, Guerschon Yabusele played at a high level for France. Proving he still had the talent level to play in the NBA again.
With that, he signed a one-year contract with the 76ers for the 2024-25 season. Yabusele played in 70 of the Sixers 82 games and made 43 starts. His impressive year after five seasons away from the NBA was enough to earn a two-year, $11.3 million deal with the Knicks. He is on the books for $5.5 million in 2025-26 and has a $5.8 million player option in 2026-27. In his first season with the Knicks, Yabusele’s efficiency and production are down.
The frustrating thing about where the Knicks are leading up to the deadline is that the one sort of player they actually need is basically 2024-25 Guerschon Yabusele, except they have 2025-26 Guerschon Yabusele and I have no idea why the difference between the two is so big. https://t.co/l0I3wTtMGt
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) December 22, 2025
After averaging 27.3 minutes per game with the Sixers last season, Guerschon Yabusele is averaging 9.9 minutes per game in 2025-26. The 30-year-old has not been a consistent part of head coach Mike Browns’s rotation. Additionally, Yabusele is averaging 3.0 points per game in 2025-26 after averaging 11.0 per game last season. Not ideal for New York. Recently, NBA insider Ian Begley reported the Knicks could be open to trading Yabusele before February 5.
Additionally, Begley said the team is pursuing backup big men on the trade market. That speaks volumes about how the Knicks view Guerschon Yabusele. Not a long-term piece of their roster. New York has over a month to trade Guerschon Yabusele. Ian Begley mentioned Dario Saric, Precious Achiuwa, and Andre Drummond as potential trade targets to add depth in the front court.
