Positive Reviews From Former Players Helped Philadelphia 76ers

How two former Philadelphia 76ers helped the signing of Guerschon Yabusele.

Aug 8, 2024; Paris, France; France power forward Guerschon Yabusele (7) goes to the basket during the first half against France in a men's basketball semifinal game during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Accor Arena. Mandatory Credit: Rob Schumacher-Imagn Images / Rob Schumacher-Imagn Images

Reputation is everything when it comes to free agency in the NBA. Fortunately for the Philadelphia 76ers, positive reviews from a couple of former players helped the team land its latest signing, Guerschon Yabusele.

Late last week, the Sixers officially announced the signing of Yabusele after he struck a buyout with Real Madrid in Spain. One day after the announcement, Yabusele arrived at the team’s training facility to meet with the media for the first time.

That’s when the veteran forward revealed Nic Batum, and Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot helped him pick the Sixers in free agency this summer.

“Timothe, especially when I was here before and he was here, he showed me a little bit of the city,” Yabusele told reporters. “When the rumor came out on the internet, I talked to Nicolas [Batum], and he was telling me how good Nick [Nurse] was going to be as a coach and the city, the love, the fans, the everything, and he was telling me how good of a spot it would be for me to come in here.”

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Yabusele also revealed that Luwawu-Cabarrot helped with introducing him to Joel Embiid in the past.

The 2024-2025 NBA season won’t be Yabusele’s first go-round in the NBA. Back in 2016, Yabusele landed with the Boston Celtics in the draft as the 16th overall pick. He debuted with the Celtics in 2017 and spent two seasons there before getting waived in 2019.

Although Yabusele has bounced around beyond the NBA since his time with the Celtics ended, his performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics with France helped him land back on the NBA’s radar. He won’t team up with his fellow French players, but they were still critical in helping the Sixers out.

Luwawu-Cabarrot is a long way from his time with the Sixers. The former 24th overall pick competed with the Sixers for two seasons before getting traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He had runs with the Thunder, Chicago Bulls, Brooklyn Nets, and the Atlanta Hawks before returning to Europe.

Batum recently spent a season with the Sixers. After starting the 2023-2024 run with the LA Clippers, Batum was included in the James Harden blockbuster. He appeared in 57 games during the regular season with the Sixers. Following a six-game playoff run, Batum hit the free agency market.

The 76ers showed interest in bringing Batum back, but the veteran forward took his talents back to the Clippers for another run. His absence offers a player like Yabusele a chance to earn a role in the rotation.