The Chicago Bulls are making moves-and this one’s a calculated swing at unlocking some untapped frontcourt depth. The team is acquiring veteran forward Guerschon Yabusele from the New York Knicks in exchange for third-year wing Dalen Terry, according to multiple sources.
Let’s start with Yabusele. The 30-year-old forward has had a winding road in the league, and while his stint in New York didn’t exactly turn heads-he averaged just under nine minutes a night across 41 games-there’s still reason to believe he can contribute in the right situation.
Before landing with the Knicks, Yabusele showed flashes of productivity in Philadelphia, and before that, he built a strong résumé overseas. There was even talk he might head back to Europe, where he once starred, but this trade likely keeps that idea on the shelf for now.
Chicago clearly sees something here. With Nikola Vucevic now in Boston, the Bulls’ frontcourt has been in flux, and Yabusele brings a unique blend of size, experience, and stretch potential that could earn him a bigger role than he saw in New York. This isn’t just a throw-in move-this is a team looking to recalibrate its rotation and take a flyer on a player who’s shown he can produce in the right environment.
For the Knicks, this is more about flexibility than on-court impact. Yabusele’s $5.7 million player option for next season was a sticking point in trade talks, and flipping him for Terry’s $5.4 million expiring deal gives New York a small but useful bit of breathing room under the second tax apron. That cap space could be the key to adding a 15th player sooner than expected, according to cap expert Yossi Gozlan.
As for Terry, the 18th pick in the 2022 draft never quite found his footing in Chicago. At 23, he’s still young enough to intrigue teams looking for a low-risk developmental piece, and there’s already buzz that his expiring deal might be more attractive on the trade market than Yabusele’s was. Whether he sticks in New York or gets rerouted before the deadline remains to be seen, but for now, he gives the Knicks some roster flexibility and a potential trade chip.
Bottom line: the Bulls are betting on Yabusele to give them meaningful minutes in a reshaped frontcourt, while the Knicks are playing the long game with cap maneuvering and potential trade leverage. It’s a low-risk, potentially high-reward move on both sides-exactly the kind of deal that can quietly shape the back half of the season.