Spurs next awesome big man aces audition with impressive statline

The Spurs took down the 76ers 128-120 last night with impressive performances from soon-to-be Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle, Jeremy Sochan, Chris Paul, Devin Vassell, and Harrison Barnes; otherwise known as the Starting Five. It was a complete team effort, with San Antonio basketball dripping all over the court at the Frost Bank Center.

The team finished with 36 assists, and 14 of them came from Castle. But even though the Spurs won, Philly's big man Guerschon Yabusele was the player who caught my eye. Mostly because SA needs a player exactly like that. After watching him last night, I'm more convinced than ever that San Antonio should make him a priority when free agency begins.

Guerschon Yabusele is an unrestricted free agent this summer

Philadelphia's general manager is former Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey. Morey used to be known for his savvy moves as the king dealmaker. His ability to continuously retool the Rockets when James Harden was their superstar was impressive. If one iteration of the team didn't work, he simply changed the players around the Beard, and they continued to win.

However, nobody is infallible, and Morey made a mistake when he only signed Yabusele to a one-year deal for two million dollars. His performance in the Olympics should have been enough for anyone to realize the type of player he had become. That contract should have been at least a three-year deal, but since it wasn't, Philly is on the verge of losing a talent they'll surely miss.

Philly's backup center got the starting nod with Joel Embiid out the rest of the year. He dropped 23 points on 11/16 FG, adding nine rebounds—four of them on the offensive end—five assists, and a steal to the stat sheet. He didn't hit a single 3-pointer, but he was still incredibly effective, impacting the game in several ways.

Don't doubt his three-point shooting ability, though. Yabusele is averaging 38.5% from deep this season. He can do it all, and he put his versatility on display last night.

San Antonio should move on from Charles Bassey and Bismack Biyombo in the offseason. If they bring in Guerschon, they wouldn't need to address that position in the draft, opening up the door to aggressively pursue shooters like Liam McNeeley and Kon Knueppel or dynamic scorers and playmakers like Jeremiah Fears and Nolan Traore.

This isn't a deep free agency class for bigs. The only other player who would be of interest to me would be Naz Reid, but he'll probably be much more expensive than Yabusele. Philly's interim center has earned a payday, but his path back to the league and free agency after one year will make him more affordable.

Funny enough, it feels like he seriously wants to join the team based on how well he plays against San Antonio. The last time the Silver and Black faced off against Philadelphia was in December, and he went 6/8 from the field in that game. Hopefully, Brian Wright received the message and goes out of his way to pair the talented Frenchman with his old running mate, Victor Wembanyama.