Why hasn’t Guerschon Iabusele factored into Mike Brown’s plans yet?

The The New York Knicks improved to 3-0 at home on Sunday night with a 128-116 victory over the Chicago Bulls. That was the kind of play Leon Rose’s front office probably had in mind when they did hired Mike Brown as head coach.

Jalen Brunson led the way with 31 points in the Knicks’ all-star win. Offseason signing Jordan Clarkson made six of his 11 shots off the bench for a total of 15 points. It was Clarkson’s best game so far in the young season.

New York’s other notable summer addition played a much smaller role in the win. Gershon Yabusele logged just two minutes of playing time, all in the first quarter, before going to the bench for the night. It was even less than the three minutes he played against the Bulls on Friday.

When asked by ClutchPoints after the game about not including Yabusele, Brown made it clear that it was a conscious decision by him and his coaching staff.

“No, it’s me. I can probably play with 10 guys, right? But it’s not going to be 10. It’s more like nine and a half. So, there’s going to be somebody who has half of it,” Brown told the media on Sunday.

The Knicks coach talked about his penchant for “nine and a half man” rotations at media day. It was refreshing for fans eager to see the team use their bench more. Fans are learning what Brown’s rotations look like, and the coach has already used 15 different players. Yabusele, however, was not a key part of the plans.

Why Mike Brown Needs Gershon Yabusele to ‘Stay Ready’

It’s left was busy during the last year. He represented France at the 2024 Olympics and FIBA ​​EuroBasket 2025. The Frenchman logged just 486 minutes in his NBA career before playing 70 games for Philadelphia between international competitions. He played 1,895 minutes for the 76ers.

Brown indicated on Sunday night that he is aware of the toll on the big man’s body. He clarified that his lack of playing time was driven more by fear of an injury to Mitchell Robinson than a desire to allow Yabusele to rehabilitate and recover.

“I’ve had minutes for him in both halves, but not a ton,” Brown explained, “and he’s just got to go out and give us whatever he can give us. I just picked — nothing he did, it was just on a rotation basis, and it got a little funky because Mitch left early, you know, and then he came back, and so that was my call.”

Robinson is injury-prone at this stage in his career and left Sunday’s game briefly so trainers could rest his right leg. Yabusele did not see playing time despite the sudden vacuum in the rotation. Karl-Anthony Towns tied a career-high 36 minutes in the win; Brown may not have trusted the defensive frontcourt pairing.

Although Yabusele doesn’t play as big a role in the rotation as expected, Brown has been complementary with his contributions. He concluded his answers about Jabusele with an honest assessment of the situation.

“Guersch played well. He’s got to be ready, because he’s going to continue to get minutes. I’ve just got to try to find more if I can, but there’s not going to be a lot more for — when you start talking about nine, 10 guys — there’s not going to be a ton for that ninth or 10th guy.”

The Knicks will stay at home for a quick turnaround, playing the Washington Wizards on Monday night. It remains to be seen how Brown continues to tinker with his rotations. The message to Jabusele, however, is clear. Be prepared.