CHICAGO — In terms of position and style, Guerschon Yabusele wasn’t a good fit on the Knicks, according to Mike Brown, who faced his former player for the first time in Sunday’s game against the Bulls.
“The position he’s shown he’s best in in the NBA — the small-ball center spot — we just didn’t have the minutes consistently for him to be there,” Brown said before the Knicks’ 105-99 win over the Bulls. “And then when he was at the 4. For us, because of our centers, the matchups weren’t always there. So we had to pick and choose when he was on the floor and how we were going to play him.”
Yabusele, who finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds, didn’t play much with the Knicks, averaging just 8.9 minutes in 41 appearances before being traded to the Bulls before the deadline.
It was a disappointment after Yabusele signed a two-year, $11 million deal as a free agent in the summer.
Team president Leon Rose effectively flipped the Frenchman for Jose Alvarado, a move that wouldn’t have been possible if Yabusele hadn’t waived the second year of his contract.
So Yabusele did the Knicks a solid on his way out.
The rumor, though unconfirmed by Yabusele, is that he’s secured a lucrative deal overseas next season to make up for the lost money.
He has been playing much heavier minutes with the Bulls, who are playing for better odds in the draft lottery, and started Sunday against the Knicks.
Yabusele entered the game shooting 42 percent from deep over six appearances — way above his 29.4 percent with the Knicks.
He was also averaging 10.5 points and 5.2 rebounds in over 24 minutes with Chicago.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan lauded Yabusele’s leadership.
“He’s always using his voice in a positive way, trying to uplift guys,” Donovan said. “Gives you some flexibility. Can play him at the center spot, at the power forward spot. But just his overall spirit has been good.”
There were no complaints about Yabusele’s attitude with the Knicks.
He just didn’t fit in Brown’s plans for a system predicated on movement off the ball.
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“His skill set is obviously as a small-ball center. And it’s picking and popping. And then it’s spacing the floor. And the way we try to play, we try to move a lot. Cut a lot,” Brown said. “And then it’s tough because we have [Karl-Anthony Towns] playing heavy minutes, and we have [Mitchell Robinson] playing heavy minutes. This is a situation in Chicago — and even in Philadelphia [where Yabusele was last season], it was a situation where they were able to find consistent minutes for him. Because he’s a good player. Started for the French national team. We all know what they did. The style of play is a little bit different.”
Mitchell Robinson sat again Sunday after playing a night earlier in a victory over the Rockets, but Brown didn’t want to declare his backup center would never play both games of a back-to-back.
“I’m not 100 percent for sure,” Brown said. “Obviously he hasn’t played a back-to-back yet.But I’m not talking to our medical staff asking, ‘Is this going to be like this the rest of the year?’ ”
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Brown said the medical staff informs him that Robinson, who is load-managing his surgically repaired ankle, won’t play both games.
Then the coach decides which of the two games Robinson will suit up.
The Knicks only have three more back-to-back sets.
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