The New York Knicks dealt Guerschon Yubesele at the trade deadline to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for Dalen Terry and two second-round draft picks, and in the weeks since the trade Mike Brown has spoken up about why exactly Yabusele was traded away and why he didn't fit with the Knicks in the first place.

New York signed Yabusele to a two-year, $11.7 million deal ahead of the 2025-26 season, but after just 41 games in New York, Yabusele was averaging 8.9 minutes a game and a low-impact 2.7 points, 2.1 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. 

Brown explained that the roster simply couldn't accommodate Yabusele at the position where he worked best and even with him coming off the bench, Brown simply couldn't find a place for him on the court where he could be effective.

"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 (via New York Post). “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."

One of the greatest strengths in the Knicks' roster construction is their big men. Karl-Anthony Towns and OG Anunoby lead the way in that regard and there's already strong depth coming off the bench with Mitchell Robinson and Mohamed Diawara, leaving Yubusele with no real place to fit in for consistent minutes on the court. 

With such a steep price tag on a player that couldn't find enough time to be effective in games naturally led the Knicks to shopping him around and eventually finding a deal with the Bulls, who were very active at the deadline and involved in multiple deals with different teams. 

In turn, the nexts traded Terry to the New Orleans Pelicans for Jose Alvarado, who's made a huge impact for New York already in his brief time with the team. 

Alvarado's averaging 10.2 points and 2.2 steals per game for the Knicks and he's already had a number of show-stopping performances while Terry was waived by the Pelicans shortly after the trade. 

For Yabusele, he's found a much more productive role with the Bulls than he ever had with the Knicks, even if Chicago isn't playing much wining basketball.

In seven games, Yabusele is averaging 25.4 minutes, 10.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, showcasing the talents that the Knicks initially signed him for, even if they couldn't find much use for him.