Guerschon Yabusele Leaves Lasting Impact on Two Young Knicks

In Guerschon Yabusele’s debut for the New York Knicks in Chicago, the 30-year old forward secured his first double-double of the year because of course he did. In 33 minutes, he collected 15 points, 11 rebounds and looked like the player New York thought they were getting for a big piece of their mid-level exception over the summer.

The rotund Frenchman will go down as one of the worst free agent signings in recent New York Knicks memory. Not quite to the extent of Jerome James or Joakim Noah, but right up there with the unforgettably bad Clarence Weatherspoon and Shandon Anderson. That's how ugly things were in his 41 games, where he averaging 2.7 points across 8.9 minutes while shooting below 40% from the floor and 29.4% from 3.

Yabusele did, however, leave two parting gifts. First, the six-foot-seven big man did the team a huge favor by removing his player option for next year and making it easier for Leon Rose to wash his hands of his off-season mistake. Secondly, the seasoned professional played a huge role in mentoring Pacome Dadiet and Mohamed Diawara, who are fellow countrymen and two 20-year-olds trying to find their NBA way.

Yabusele Did His Part Off The Court

"I often repeat to them that no matter what happens in this league, it doesn’t stop there. Even when you get low minutes, you have to remember that every NBA franchise is watching the players, their attitudes, the details,” Yabusele told GQ France over the weekend. “I’m really on their backs to make sure they stay positive and keep their behavior impeccable. But it’s super easy because they listen a lot to what I tell them. I love our relationship."

The trio established their own French Connection in the Big Apple. When the Knicks drafted Mohamed Diawara 51st overall over the summer, it was a reunion with Pacome Dadiet. They were teammates at Saint-Charles Charenton, a prominent French youth club. Despite being the new kid on campus and looking like a project, Diawara has leapfrogged his good friend, who was touted as the greater prospect entering the season, on the totem ball.

In summer league, Diawara showed flashes of his high motor, ball handling and defense, If you looked hard enough you could see the vision of a mini-Pascal Siakim. He figured to be a stash candidate or at the very best a two-way player getting most of his run in the G-League. You couldn’t see the vision of him taking such a leap so fast and the youngster playing a big role in a February victory at TD Garden.