Knicks Made Most of Bad Situation With Guerschon Yabusele Trade

The New York Knicks finalized a trade late in the night after defeating the Denver Nuggets, trading Guerschon Yabusele to the Chicago Bulls. In return, they received Dalen Terry only to flip him for Jose Alvarado.

It is a move that has been anticipated for weeks. Yabusele has not been a good fit for Mike Brown’s system, failing to replicate the production he provided last season with the Philadelphia 76ers.

This was an excellent deal for the Knicks for several reasons. The most important being that they cleared a little more space below the hardcap they are working under because of signing Yabusele last summer. As shared by Yossi Gozlan on X, New York increased from a second-apron space of $148,359 to $249,241, making their next trade easier.

Knicks also increase their second apron space from $148,359 to $249,241.

This moves up the date in which they can sign a 15th player to a rest of season contract from April 2 to March 26.

They'll have a better chance at creating more space and acquiring targets with Dalen… https://t.co/8WWQQXDxuU
— Yossi Gozlan (@YossiGozlan) February 5, 2026

Knicks have opened up trade avenues and saved money

The Bulls were motivated to move on from Terry and clear the restricted free agent cap hold he would have had on their books this summer, which is significantly more expensive than Yabusele's player option.

This deal may not have moved the needle much for fans, but it opened up more avenues for New York’s front office to make more deals. Having an expiring contract with Terry made negotiating for Alvarado a lot easier than it would have been with Yabusele and his player option.

Chicago Bulls forward Dalen Terry warming up — Jan 13, 2026; Houston, Texas, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Dalen Terry (7) warms up before the game against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

SNY's Ian Begley also reported that Yabusele worked with the Knicks to amend his contract and remove that player option in order to make the trade with Chicago work, helping pave the way for New York to bring in Alvarado in a separate deal.

On top of having a more tradeable contract, another bonus is that they didn’t have to attach any draft assets to move Yabusele in this deal, making it easier to make another trade with their nine remaining picks.

And that is exactly what the Knicks did. They completed a trade with the New Orleans Pelicans, acquiring Alvarado in exchange for Terry and two second-round picks, saving nearly another $900,000 in salary. When as close to the second apron as New York was, every penny counts and that is excellent work by the front office.

Knicks Flip Dalen Terry for Jose Alvarado

That deal only became possible because they were able to find a taker for Yabusele without having to attach any assets to him. Another win for Leon Rose and the front office is retaining Dadiet, who can be used in another deal ahead of the deadline or this summer when New York looks to reshape the roster again.

Alvarado also has a player option for the 2026-27 season, which complicates retaining key pieces such as Landry Shamet, Mitchell Robinson and Mohamed Diawara this offseason in free agency and remaining a first-apron team. However, it is for less money than Yabusele’s would have been, and there is certainly a chance he declines it should he play well enough to put himself in a position for a payday.

Alas, having salary cap savant Brock Aller as part of the front office certainly helps. The Knicks
have assuredly gone over different scenarios to avoid the harshest penalties, and having more tradeable contracts makes negotiating trades a lot easier.

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