Knicks Shopping Frenchmen Guerschon Yabusele, Pacome Dadiet

NBA insider Marc Stein reported yesterday that the New York Knicks have made Guerschon Yabusele and Pacome Dadiet available in trade talks. This isn’t exactly breaking news as the two Frenchmen have struggled and been mostly out of the rotation. Their combined salaries equate to $8,347,600 and due to apron restrictions, the Knicks cannot acquire more salary than what they send out.

After being drafted with the 16th pick of the first round in the 2016 draft by Boston, Yabusele washed out of the league after two seasons. He spent five years overseas, playing in China, France and with Real Madrid, where he helped the team win two EuroLeague titles. Thanks to helping lead France to the Gold medal game during the 2024 Paris Olympics, Yabusele put himself back on the NBA radar

The Philadelphia 76ers brought him in on a minimum deal. Despite the Sixers having an underwhelming season, the six-foot-seven forward was a bright spot. In 70 games, he averaged 11 points and 5.6 rebounds while shooting 38% from long distance. Yabusele's versatile skill set put him in line for a pay raise and made him a hot commodity in free agency.

Yabusele Drew Plenty Of Interest In Free Agency

Over the summer, the 30-year-old Yabusele was the Knicks big free agent addition, where he signed for two years, $11 million, with the second season being a $6 million player option. But he’s been an odd fit in Mike Brown’s fast paced system and has looked out of shape. He was listed at 283 pounds in the media guide, which is among the beefiest in the league.

Yabusele has barely seen the floor over the last few weeks and missed his second consecutive game on Sunday with a right quadriceps contusion. In 32 games, he's averaging a measly 3.3 points and 2.2 rebounds in 9.9 minutes per game. Last week, ESPN’s Bobby Marks proposed a three-team deal that sends Yabusele to the Spurs, Jeremy Sochan to the Wizards and Cam Whitmore coming back to New York.

Meanwhile, the 20-year old Dadiet has seen the court in 44 minutes across 14 sporadic appearances this season. While fellow youngsters Tyler Kolek, Ariel Hukporti, Kevin McCullar Jr and Mohamed Diawara have all played meaningful minutes, he's been stapled to the bench and has bounced between the big club and the team’s G-League affiliate in Westchester, where he’s seen action in six games.