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Celtics, Knicks, Nuggets Among Teams Registering Interest In Guerschon Yabusele

January 30th 2025 at 7:39pm CST by Tristan Tucker

The Celtics, Knicks, Nuggets and others have called the Sixers to express interest in trading for forward Guerschon Yabusele, HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto writes. As we wrote this week, the Sixers “love” the French forward but his impending unrestricted free agent status gives the Sixers plenty to think about at this deadline.

Yabusele is averaging 10.4 points and 5.5 rebounds this year while shooting 50.2% from the field and 39.3% from three. He’s been a crucial part of a Sixers team that has been ravaged by injuries this season. Yabusele entered Thursday with 22 games started under his belt this year.

After Yabusele’s $2.09MM salary expires this offseason, he’ll have no shortage of suitors in free agency. The Sixers only hold his non-Bird rights, so they’re limited in what they can offer him unless they use an exception.

As Scotto writes, the fact that the Sixers are 19-27 and currently on the outside looking in for the Play-In Tournament (though they’re tied with the Bulls), contending teams are calling about Philadelphia’s veterans. Not only would Yabusele bolster any playoff rotation, but his cheap contract this year could offer savings for contenders looking to cut costs.

Yabusele isn’t the only player generating interest on the trade market. As we wrote, Eric Gordon is also receiving interest. Scotto also reports that Andre Drummond, Kelly Oubre and, notably, Caleb Martin, have been checked on by rival teams. Martin signed a four-year, $35MM deal with the Sixers this summer and if the Sixers decide to sell their veterans, he would be one of the more coveted players on the block.

Drummond has a player option worth $5MM next year while Oubre has one for around $8.38MM.

Despite what seems to be healthy interest in players that would make sense to sell for a team interested in draft position, I’m still somewhat skeptical the Sixers would proceed with a full-blown firesale. For starters, as mentioned, Philadelphia is tied with the Bulls for 10th in the East. They’re also just 4.0 games out of the sixth seed, entering Thursday. While nothing is going according to plan for Philadelphia this year, it’s still logical for them to convince themselves that better health luck moving forward would equate to a postseason appearance. The Sixers are on a four-game winning streak, for what it’s worth.

The Sixers’ draft pick in this class is also protected, but only if it lands in the top six. While it’s not unheard of for teams with low odds to win big and move into the top four, the Sixers have likely already won too many games to truly bottom out and end up as one of the league’s worst six teams record-wise. And even if the Sixers did end up with one of the six-worst records, there’s still a chance that pick falls out of their hands and into the Thunder’s if they’re surpassed by a team with lower odds come lottery time.

If the Sixers envision themselves as contenders next year, it would make sense to keep players like Martin, Oubre and Yabusele who can contribute to winning with a healthier roster.

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