Apparently “frustration” for Gershon Yabusele with the Knicks

After a big return to the NBA last season with the Sixers, Guerschon Yabusele has cooled, at least on an individual level, since his arrival in Nix. For now, the “Dancing Bear” has to be content with the crumbs in Mike Brown’s rotation, averaging 2.7 points and 2.5 rebounds in less than 10 minutes.

The first duel against Miami, during which he was clumsy and overpowered defensively, hurt him a lot. Since then, his trainer has been using him in homeopathic doses… and he seems to be having difficulty defining his role.

“Everybody’s still learning. Basically, there aren’t that many minutes. I’m not sure it’s his fault.”, his coach recently responded like this when asked about Gershon Yabusele’s minutes. “Sometimes it’s the circumstances. I bring him on, I bring him on. It’s hard to get that rhythm. I have to take my role. In time, because he’s a good player, he’ll show it. He needs minutes to show it, and I’m not sure he’ll always get it.”

Vague statements that raise questions, while Olivier Mazette, the strong winger’s agent, recognizes that his client expected more responsibility at his new team.

Good relationship with Leon Rose

“There are necessarily additional expectations from Gershon” admits at RMC. “There’s a little bit of frustration. Gershon got to New York a little bit out of time, because he finished with the French team a little bit too early, 10-12 days before what we could have predicted, where you could aim for at least the semifinals or the final. It puts you in a different rhythm. So you arrive a little bit unusual.”

The agent also mentions the usual adaptation to a new team, within an already existing core, with the addition of a new coach who has to impose his principles. That remains a fact “This is not necessarily the expected start of the season” while Mike Brown above all seems not to know how to use the Frenchman’s profile.

However, the season is long, and the Knicks ended up playing just 12 games out of 82 on the campaign…

“The advantage is that I have a very good relationship with Leon Rose, the president of the Knicks, because we worked together when he was an agent.” concludes Olivier Mazet. “We had a one-on-one meeting for an hour to look at the condition of Mohammed (Diawara) and Gershon, it allows us to exchange views, to recall the conditions of Gershon’s arrival and above all to move forward to see how things can move forward.”

How to read statistics? MJ = matches played; Min = Minute; Shots = Shots Successful / Shots Attempted; 3 points = 3 points / attempt 3 points; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive jump; Tot = Total number of jumps; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal mistakes; Int = intercepts; Bp = lost balls; Ct: Against; Points = Points.