NI part ways with Guerschon Iabusele in trade

The New York Knicks finalize a deal to send Gershon Yabusele to the Chicago Bulls, and in return guard Dalen Terry returns. The team had been trying to move Jabusele for months, agreeing to a deal with Chicago with less than 15 hours left before the 2026 NBA trade deadline. frees up cap space for the Knicks in the 2026 offseason, with them no longer on the hook for Jabusele’s player option.

Yabusele was New York’s biggest offseason addition other than head coach Mike Brown. The organization used the taxpayer’s mid-level exception to sign French. That guaranteed him an option for the second year of his contract. Knicks trade Jabusele for Terryexpiring contract effectively gives them that cap space this offseason.

Terry was the 18th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, offering positional size and defensive instincts that clearly intrigued the Bulls. However, the 23-year-old never fit into Chicago’s plans. He is averaging a career-high 11.1 minutes per game over 204 appearances in his tenure with New York.

Nick’s most recent contract expires at the end of this season, and the team also gets the option to extend him a qualifying offer of $7.7 million. Terry would get a no-trade clause in case he signed that offeraccording to Nix film school cap expert Jeremy Cohen. It seems the most prudent thing for New York is to simply allow Terry to hit free agency without any restrictions.

Yabusele was just never great with the Knicks

The Browns hadn’t used Iabusele in a game since Jan. 30, and the big man’s days in New York appeared to be numbered. The 30-year-old Frenchman kept his spirits up, continuing to post on social media in support of his teammates. On Wednesday, however, Yabusele responded to a social media comment to support a fan who claimed he “needs at least two drives a game and coach makes him shoot threes when he’s guarded by guards and small forwards.”

Yabusele praised the fan for having “common sense,” adding that he’s “going to be fine” while signing off on the message that Brown’s system is a bad matchup for the veteran big. French was signed almost a week before the team hired Brown. He never seemed to find him suitable for the coaching system.

With this agreement, both sides have an opportunity to move forward. The veteran big has a new home with the Bulls, and The Knicks no longer have their player option towering over the flexibility of their cap.