Guerschon Yabusele Did Enough To Make Roster

Guerschon Yabusele proved himself in summer league, but here’s why he’s not on the roster

“Wait, what?”

That was a common phrase when Guerschon Yabusele was selected with the 16th pick in this year’s draft. No one, not even Guerschon Yabusele, expected him to be picked in the first round, let alone right outside of the lottery. It was arguably the most surprising pick in the first round, and many thought Boston wasted a mid-first round pick on a player who might not even turn out to be a bench player.

Then, many watched Yabusele play for the first time. He came in with about as much intrigue as anyone other than Jaylen Brown. There was criticism about the pick and the type of role he would have with the Boston Celtics in the future, but it didn’t phase him.

With Jordan Mickey missing three games in Utah due to a shoulder injury, Yabusele was given the biggest role in the Celtics’ front court from the start. Boston leaned on the broad shoulders of the 6’7″ and 260 pound French power forward.

Yabusele exceeded nearly every expectation this summer. He started in all eight games and finished the summer averaging 8.2 points, six rebounds, 1.1 steals and 0.9 blocks per game. Although, his most impressive number was that he grabbed an insane 2.5 offensive rebounds per game – 28 defensive, 20 offensive throughout summer league.

For being shorter than the average big man, he showed great post presence and knowledge of working the glass. Of course, his huge frame made it extremely hard to move him, therefore he was able to gain better positioning in the paint. He wouldn’t get a thundering put-back dunk, however, like he did during the whole summer, he found ways to score in the paint or reset the offense for an extra possession.

Yabusele’s offensive game was one of the most interesting all summer. He came into summer league after shooting 42.6 percent from three in France last year, although that wasn’t a major part of his game. There were multiple games where Yabusele didn’t even attempt a three, he was more focused on getting to the basket.

It made sense as he only shot 12.5 percent from behind the arc in the summer, but his 48 percent from the field was impressive. It may have been the longer three-point line or nerves, but Yabusele was very ineffective from deep. Even though his game was still very perimeter-oriented, he never settled for shots, and when he got more comfortable as summer league went on, he continued to attack the basket more.

He showed power by going through defenders and finishing with a big dunk, and he also showed finesse when he would try to go around the defender in fear of drawing an offensive foul. For a player at his size, his quickness, ball-handling and finesse in the paint was very impressive. Granted it’s summer league, Yabusele had no problem getting by his defender.

Defensively, Yabusele was an animal, as well. He didn’t block a ton of shots, however, he did create a lot of turnovers. Yabusele showed off his extremely quick hands for a power forward and even recorded a couple of blocks when being a help defender.

It’s unknown how his height will hold up against taller opponents, although his big body will make it hard for anyone in the NBA to move. Therefore, he’ll never be a great shot blocker but his ability to contest shots is promising, although he’ll need to cut down on his fouls.

For as much good as Yabusele showed, he also looked very raw on both ends. He averaged 3.5 fouls per game in only 25.1 minutes. That’s five fouls per 36 minutes – which would have ranked highest on the team last season. It could partly be due to the foul-heavy games the refs were calling due to players owning 10 fouls, but Yabusele still had a problem of playing with too much contact.

As promising as his defense looked at times, learning to contest shots or grab rebounds without fouling will be one of his biggest learning curves. He has the body and quickness to be a solid defender, but it’s definitely a work in progress.

Offensively, as previously noted, his outside shot struggled. He won’t be able to get to the basket as often in the NBA, so becoming a more consistent outside shooter will open up the lane more and make him a better all-around player on that end. Also, his back to the basket game was shaky at times. With the NBA being a shooting league, owning a great post game isn’t always necessary for big men, although it can’t hurt to have and it will come in handy when he grabs an offensive board.

Despite his rawness, keeping him on the roster was a real possibility for the Celtics. Boston was trying to clear a roster spot so he could stay with the team, although, in the end, having him play in China next season was the best move.

He should see consistent minutes for the Shanghai Sharks – a team owned by Yao Ming. While being on the NBA roster could have also helped his game, he would have rarely seen minutes – similar to Jordan Mickey last season.

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Boston’s front court is a logjam at the moment, and the last thing Yabusele would want is to be the fifth or sixth option coming off the bench. Also, with Boston having 13 roster spots filled and three-second round picks, decisions will have to be made and Yabusele would have made it that much more difficult.

With Amir Johnson, Jonas Jerebko and Kelly Olynyk all hitting free agency next summer, Yabusele and Ante Zizic will have a chance to make the roster.

Yabusele did everything he needed to after being drafted in the first round. He put together solid performance after solid performance and showed the potential is there. Not to mention that Yabusele is far more developed than what many were expecting.

Next: Celtics Don't Need to Make Another Move

If the Celtics didn’t own their depth, or weren’t one of the top teams in the East, Yabusele would have made the roster. At least Boston saw his potential against NBA players and will be able to gauge his development better during next year’s summer league after a year in China.

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