When the floundering Sixers held off on trading Guerschon Yabusele at February's trade deadline despite plenty of interested contenders, it was a clear signal that the team believed it could find a way to bring Yabusele, 29, back for the 2025-26 season and beyond, despite limited financial means.
After signing with the Sixers on a one-year deal at the veteran's minimum salary late into last offseason, Yabusele turned into one of the lone bright spots of a 24-58 season. His improved three-point shooting enabled him to thrive, not just at power forward but also in logging most of his minutes as a small-ball center, while his toughness and passing chops helped round out his game.
Yabusele put the league on notice, and he should have a real market when free agency opens June 30. Which teams are the greatest threats to the Sixers' chances of retaining his services?
San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs have a fairly clean cap sheet, which will allow them to be aggressive in seeking out valuable role players they deem to be solid fits with stars Victor Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox, along with core youngsters Stephon Castle and Devin Vassell. And at this juncture, San Antonio has a solid mixture of perimeter players, with healthy rotations at the guard and wing positions. They could use some bolstering down low, though, and that's where Yabusele fits into the conversation.
As things stand now, Wembanyama is the only center under contract with the Spurs for 2025-26. They will be in the market for multiple reserve fives this summer, but could also use some fortification at the four. Yabusele's strongest selling point will be that he can help plug both holes for the Spurs or any other team that needs contributors in multiple spots.
Yabusele's quality shooting stroke could enable Fox to play with optimal spacing around him when Wembanyama is off the floor; his strength would allow Wembanyama to occasionally take a breather defensively and be used in more creative capacities on that end of the floor.
Yabusele's ability to play out of the short roll and to pass on the move makes him a pristine fit in San Antonio's offense, and as an added bonus, he already knows how to share a frontcourt with Wembanyama, his French countryman. Yabusele has shined playing alongside Wembanyama, including during his run in the 2024 Olympics which persuaded the Sixers to sign him after a half-decade away from the NBA.
MORE: Yabusele stars vs. Wembanyama, Spurs
Denver Nuggets
When the Nuggets used their limited financial resources last summer to sign old friend Dario Šarić to back up Nikola Jokić at center, it made much more sense in theory than in practice.
The theory: Šarić fits an ideal archetype of player for that specific spot, as a smart passer and capable three-point shooter whose effort and smarts can make him passable defensively even if not necessarily productive. He could be a serviceable backup five behind Jokić and also log some minutes at the four alongside one of the greatest players of a generation.
The issue in practice: Šarić was no longer skilled enough for any of that to actually be true, as he was quickly pulled from the rotation and is a very possible salary dump candidate this summer. Yabusele has far more ability than Šarić at this stage of their careers, and could give the Nuggets what they were looking for initially.
However, the Nuggets' best offer to Yabusele will not be enough for them to clearly outbid the Sixers. So it'll boil down to what the 29-year-old wants: Would a far greater chance of winning be worth the major move from a city and organization he came to appreciate?
Los Angeles Clippers
After an exciting 50-win season and an embarrassing Game 7 blowout loss in Denver, the Clippers figure to basically run things back next year – largely because they don't have much optionality otherwise without blowing up their entire roster. The lone hole they will likely be addressing this summer is their backup center spot, which was a black hole down the stretch of the season and in the playoffs as the team tried to make old friend Ben Simmons work in that spot. They ditched that experiment by the end of their seven-game series, and even if Simmons returns to the Clippers, he will almost certainly not be guaranteed that role.
Ivica Zubac is not just an outstanding center, but also a durable one. If the Clippers signed Yabusele, he could back up Zubac and also play alongside the runner-up for the 2024-25 NBA Most Improved Player Award. The Clippers are a bit thin at the four as well, and Zubac's constant availability means Yabusele could have a pretty reasonable split of his minutes from a positional perspective.
This would be another chance for Yabusele to reunite with a countryman, assuming the Clippers hold onto old friend Nicolas Batum. When the Sixers traveled to Los Angeles and faced the Clippers in November, PhillyVoice interviewed Yabusele about Batum's influence over his career. Soon after Yabusele raved about Batum, the favor was returned by Batum, who knew Yabusele would take advantage of his chance to return to the NBA.
MORE: Yabusele, Batum shower each other with praise
Minnesota Timberwolves
As currently constructed, the Timberwolves' crowded and excellent frontcourt rotation lacks room for Yabusele. But it could soon, as Julius Randle and Naz Reid are both set to become free agents this summer. It's far from out of the question that the Timberwolves find a way to retain both, but if either player walks the team would have more than enough resources to make a convincing bid for Yabusele if it felt he could replace either player.
Yabusele's skillset is far closer to that of Reid's than Randle's, although even Yabusele and Reid are different players. They do check many of the same boxes, and Minnesota's continued bets on size have paid off in recent years. Whichever of Randle and Reid stays could start at the four next to Rudy Gobert, and Yabusele could provide steady rotation minutes off the bench at the four and the five. Their mix of bigs would remain strong.
Oh, and guess what? This is another opportunity for Yabusele to join forces with a teammate from France, as he's an ardent supporter of Gobert.
Los Angeles Lakers
I would say the Lakers' upcoming pursuit of interior help after their five-game loss to Minnesota in the first round is a poorly kept secret, but it is not even that. And to be fair, the Lakers are likely going to covet the sort of rim-running centers in the mold of Dereck Lively II and Daniel Gafford, whose values skyrocketed when playing alongside Luka Dončić. But they will almost certainly be adding multiple bigs this summer, and stretch bigs like Yabusele have historically thrived when spacing the floor for LeBron James.
Like Denver, the Lakers probably won't be able to outbid the Sixers for Yabusele's services. Could they convince him it's worth leaving town to play in Los Angeles and share the floor with two of the best offensive engineers of all time and have a much better chance of winning?
SIXERS YEAR-IN-REVIEW
Joel Embiid | Guerschon Yabusele | Paul George | Jared McCain | Tyrese Maxey | Andre Drummond | Quentin Grimes | Jared Butler | Kyle Lowry | Kelly Oubre Jr. | Justin Edwards | Ricky Council IV | Eric Gordon | Lonnie Walker IV | Adem Bona
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