Sixers Rival Named ‘Offseason Winner’ After Signing Yabusele

With the annual draft and free agency surge complete, the peak of the NBA’s offseason has passed. While some decisions remain before next season begins, most NBA teams have already made their major moves.

Who Won This Offseason?

CBS Sports’ Brad Botkin named the New York Knicks as a winner for this offseason. One of their top acquisitions was Guerschon Yabusele, who took over as starting center for the Philadelphia 76ers after Joel Embiid was sidelined for the majority of last season.

“To the bench part of that equation, New York has come out of free agency with two quality players in Jordan Clarkson and Guerschon Yabusele, both of whom will be significant upgrades to the second units. You know about Clarkson. He's a born scorer. For 20 minutes a night, he can get buckets, taking weight off Jalen Brunson, perhaps, in some lineups but probably more as a second-unit specialist who poses a much bigger threat than Cam Payne.”

“Yabusele, meanwhile, started 43 games for the Sixers and averaged 11 points per game and 5.6 rebounds. He's a strong defender with size but not a rim protector. Put him out there with Mitchell Robinson and two of New York's wings and you have a serious defensive unit. Also, he can shoot, which alleviates a lot of stress from New York's attack in lineups in which he swaps in for Josh Hart.”

Last season, the Knicks accumulated a 51-31 record and made an appearance in the Eastern Conference Finals. New York’s top big men include Karl-Anthony Towns, Mitchell Robinson, and OG Anunoby.

As suggested, Yabusele will likely be utilized off the bench. Apart from his 70 appearances with the 76ers last season, the France native played for the Boston Celtics from 2017 to 2019.

In his evaluation, Botkin did not assess whether the 76ers are a winner, loser, or gray-area team for this offseason. Between drafting VJ Edgecombe, losing Yabusele in the free agency market, and still in contract negotiations with Quentin Grimes, it’s likely Philadelphia is somewhere in the grey area of the spectrum in terms of offseason moves.

In terms of competition next season, Philadelphia still revolves around the core of Joel Embiid, Paul George, and Tyrese Maxey. Pending next season’s injury reports, the 76ers are expected to pose a serious challenge to the Knicks and other divisional rivals.

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