Last season, the Knicks’ lackluster bench minutes came from Cameron Payne, occasional minutes from Precious Achiuwa, Ariel Hukporti, and just a fraction of a season from Landry Shamet and Delon Wright.
Coming into this season, fans were excited about the potential of having a much deeper bench. A big reason for the excitement was the presence of former 76er Guerschon Yabusele.
The French big man was drafted by the Celtics in 2017, but found himself playing overseas by 2019. And for a while, it looked like he would never see his way back. After an impressive showing at the 2024 Summer Olympics, though, he found himself back in the league with Philadelphia, where he established himself as a very solid bench piece, averaging 11PPG, 5.6RPG, and 2.1 APG in 27.1 MPG.
He was a mediocre but still high-energy defender who provided rebounding, outside shooting, and a surprising amount of playmaking from his position. In the 2025 offseason, New York, looking to retool their close to nonexistent bench, Yabusele emerged as a great candidate to give them some depth at a position of need, while also being different from the bigs that were already on the roster.
Yet the first couple of months of Yabusele’s time in a Knicks jersey have been worse than anyone could have imagined. He showed up to camp looking heavier than he did last year, albeit saying that he isn’t that far off his usual playing weight. He has been a subpar defender. His shot hasn’t been nearly as reliable. And he looks more lost and less confident seemingly by the day.
Yabusele is technically trending in the right direction, as his shooting numbers have looked better as of late. Despite still seeing very limited minutes, he is shooting 47.5% from the field and 43.5% from three since the beginning of December. That may not seem amazing given his lack of volume, but it’s still a step up from the 36.5% field goal percentage and 28.6% three-point percentage he posted in his first 18 games of the season.
That being said, it’s nowhere near a stretch to say that his performance has left a lot to be desired and that he’s simply been disappointing. Coach Mike Brown and the front office seemed to remain confident in Yabusele’s ability to eventually turn it around, but recent reports of him being available in trade talks are a sign that the team is already ready to move on.
But Yabusele isn’t the only Knick, or only Frenchman, on the team that is apparently available. Fellow countryman and former first-round pick, Pacome Dadiet, is reportedly also on the trading block. Dadiet, who the Knicks took last year as a young and raw prospect with upside, has yet to earn any consistent minutes. And while he’s shown flashes of defense, shooting, and playmaking, the 20-year-old has played the third fewest minutes on the team, bettering just Trey Jemison and Tosan Evbuomwan, and trailing fellow sophomores Tyler Kolek and the aforementioned Hukporti by over 400 minutes, and 200 minutes respectively.
It will be interesting to see what the two, whether in separate deals alone or in one together, could get the Knicks. Yabusele’s value has only gone down since the start of the season, but there may still be some contenders out there that believe that he’s worth the risk and that a change of scenery is all he needs. Conversely, Dadiet, given his age and lack of experience, likely won’t draw the interest of any contenders, but he could be an interesting project to take on for a lottery team or a rebuilding team.
Regardless, it’s been a disappointing start to the season for the two for different reasons. Yabusele hasn’t been nearly as productive as the team would have hoped for. And while Dadiet was never going to be a consistent contributor to this team, the fact that his teammates from the same draft class, albeit older ones, have shown more growth and have earned more trust is a bit concerning, especially since guys like Ryan Dunn, Ajay Mitchell, Jamal Shead, Adem Bona, Quinten Post, and Cam Spencer- all of whom have contributed since being drafted- got picked after him. Some of that is on Brown, and the previous head coach, Tom Thibodeau, but the Knicks find themselves in a tough spot now where they must decide if they want to cut their losses and go all in for their current window, or play it out.
