The San Antonio Spurs have shown interest in one of Victor Wembanyama’s countrymen.
Rival teams are projecting that the Spurs are a team to watch to “lure” forward Guerschon Yabusele away from the Philadelphia 76ers when free agency begins on June 30, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
Yabusele is expected to draw interest from other teams as well.
The 29-year-old is coming off a career-best season where he made his return to the NBA after a five-year hiatus. He previously played in the NBA in the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 seasons before going to play professionally overseas in China, France and Spain.
This past season, Yabusele was a key role player for the 76ers, averaging 11.0 points, 5.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, shooting an efficient 50.1 percent from the field and even started 43 games for the injury-riddled Sixers.
Yabusele played at the 2024 Paris Olympics with Wembanyama and was the second leading scorer (behind Wembanyama) for a French team that won the silver medal.
His play at the Olympics was arguably the main reason he drew interest from NBA teams last offseason.
A potential move to the Spurs would make sense, as the Spurs have a trio of centers who are free agents, including Sandro Mamukelashvili, Bismack Biyombo and Charles Bassey.
The 76ers aren’t ruling out a potential reunion with the “dancing bear,” but they face more of a challenge in retaining him.
Yabusele’s journey from a failed first attempt at the NBA to now, as he looks to cash in on a new lucrative NBA contract, is a perfect example of the saying that the journey is a marathon, not a sprint.
