PHILADELPHIA — Guerschon Yabusele, like many in the NBA hemisphere late Saturday night, received a stark reminder that the impending trade deadline was near when the Mavericks stunningly dealt Luka Doncic to the Lakers.
“Well, I feel like with what happened last night, everyone’s in a place where you can be moved,” he said on Sunday. “I’m not trying to think too much about it, and just come out here, do my job and do it the best as I can.”
Hours earlier, Yabusele started his 24th game for a 76ers team he joined as a flier from Real Madrid following his breakout Olympic run. Philadelphia didn’t even expect the standout productivity that would follow, thrust into action following injuries to Joel Embiid, Paul George and others that persisted throughout the first half of the season. Yabusele became a spot start center, something Nick Nurse didn’t imagine at first, but from the first preseason game in Boston on, he’s played well, the head coach said.
Yabusele last played in the NBA with the Celtics in 2018-19 before they declined his fourth-year team option at age 23. He had averaged 2.3 points per game on 44.2% shooting across 74 games and practically became a meme to Boston’s fan base. He later left for Europe unsure if he would ever return.
Without his Paris performance last summer, he might not have. His productivity this year, 11.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game on 51.5% shooting, has multiple NBA teams interested ahead of the deadline per HoopsHype, with the Celtics among them. A reunion makes some sense given Philadelphia’s disappointing first half and Yabusele only playing on a one-year, $2.1 million deal.
“If something like that happens, then I’ll talk about it when it happens,” Yabusele said, asked by CLNS Media about a return to Boston. “As far as right now, I’m trying to worry about our team. We got a thing going on, we got ups-and-downs, but I feel like in the last couple of games, we’ve been showing a lot of great things, a lot of effort, great energy and I’m more focused on trying to get some wins, come back in the play-in and, of course, get the playoffs. Try to get our goals.”
Yabusele and the Sixers nearly shocked the Celtics without Embiid, George and Caleb Martin on Sunday. He shot 8-for-13, hit a pair of threes and threw down a massive driving slam in traffic before pounding his chest as Philadelphia’s lead mounted to 26 points late into the third quarter.
He admitted after the game that playing against his former team carried extra weight both as a matter of revenge and respect. Yabusele played with Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Al Horford early in his career, went to the Eastern Conference Finals as a rookie and learned the hard way the difficulty of breaking into the league — then staying.
Yabusele looks more fit, chiseled and athletic than the last time he played in the NBA. Taking care of his body, Tatum said, likely allowed for the emergence Yabusele experienced to begin this year. Prior to his 21 points against Boston, he poured 28 on the Nuggets less than two weeks after his 22-point performance at Denver.
“(He’s) evolved quite a bit,” Horford told CLNS. “I feel like we always saw the potential in him and I just think he’s shooting the ball much better. He has a better feel for the game. I think playing for Real Madrid was really helpful for him to find his footing. I think if he would’ve stayed here in the league, he wouldn’t have gotten opportunities, and I don’t think he would’ve developed. So, I think that playing over there at that level just made him a lot better. When he was here, he was a good player, but he just wasn’t quite ready to be in the position that he’s in and now, he’s taking it and he’s crushing it, so I expect him to continue to get better and to be a steady guy in this league.”
There’s evidence Yabusele could help a team, particularly an organization he’s as familiar with as the Celtics. There are also signs the Sixers could embrace a selective fire sale at the deadline. Philadelphia traded Martin to Dallas on Tuesday for Quentin Grimes and a second-round pick after signing him to a four-year deal last summer. The 76ers also owe Oklahoma City their first-round pick from the 2020 Horford trade. Since they signed Yabusele to a one-year contract, they don’t own his Bird rights, and can only re-sign him to a small raise over his current minimum salary.
The same would go for the Celtics, who can comfortably absorb his contract into their open roster spot without matching it. He would almost certainly prove to be a pure rental since Boston would face the same restrictions in keeping him this summer that Philadelphia does. How much of a deal would that earn them? Giving up a second-rounder or two sounds like a no-brainer since he fills a position of need in the front court. A first would be harder to forgo given the Celtics’ long-term roster outlook. HoopsHype reported that Denver and New York could also pursue Yabusele, teams that need depth more desperately than Boston, who recently returned to full health. Meanwhile, Yabusele is focused on staying put, and who could blame him given the success and opportunity he’s received with the 76ers?
“Obviously, I wanted to get this win tonight and I feel like we played hard, we showed a lot of great things,” he said. “I would say I’m more worried about this than getting traded. If it does happen, then I’ll be in whatever situation I gotta be in. I don’t want to get my head into this a little too much. I’m just trying to think about playing. Right now, I’m still a Sixers player, I hope to stay a Sixers player and we’re gonna go from there.”
