The gold medal game in men's basketball at the Paris Olympics between the United States and France was a compelling event that caught the attention of basketball fans and NBA observers. It took a monumental effort from Steph Curry, LeBron James and Kevin Durant to overcome the host nation by a 98-87 margin. While the American stars had the final answer, French stars Victor Wembanyama and Guerschon Yabusele nearly got the job done for France.
While Wembanyama is a known commodity to NBA fans and is on a superstar track for the San Antonio Spurs as he prepares for his second season in the league. Yabusele would like to join his countryman and show off his talent in the NBA. He played two years with the Boston Celtics and had a minor impact in 2017-18 and 2018-19 before leaving to play in Europe. He would like another chance to play in the NBA, per his message on X.
Yabusele would appear to be a very hot commodity following his showing with the French Olympic team. He is a 6-8, 260-pound power forward, and he played an aggressive and impactful game for the silver medalists. Yabusele averaged 14 points per game while shooting 51.9 percent from the field in the tournament. He had a 20-point game against the United States, and two of his points came on a thunderous dunk over James, the tournament's Most Valuable Player.
Complex negotiations following Olympics could be at hand
While he wants to play in the NBA and reports have indicated that several teams may be interested in his services, he is under contract to play Real Madrid in Spain next season. If an NBA team is going to sign him, Real Madrid would need to be paid $2.5 million.
NBA rules prevent teams from paying more than $850,000 to buy a player out of an existing contract, meaning Guerschon Yabusele would have to pay the rest. That means any team that signs the French forward would have to give him a sizable contract.
The 28-year-old would presumably want a deal that would pay him commensurate with the show he put on in Paris.
The average NBA salary as of the 2022-23 season was $8.5 million, and it was slightly less for power forwards. The minimum salary for an NBA player with two years of experience is slightly less than $2.1 million.
In the high-paying world of the NBA, it would seem that negotiating a deal would not be a huge problem. However, teams may want to wait one more year to make a deal with Yabusele when an exorbitant amount would not have to be paid to buy him out of his contract.
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