Suns let Eastern Contender take perfect role player on minimum deal

It would be fair to say the Phoenix Suns have had a heck of a summer. A new head coach in Mike Budenholzer, some rookies in the NBA Draft and Tyus Jones heading to The Valley? The vibes are high, and the returning Kevin Durant and Devin Booker are only going to increase the good times.

Outside of returning guys like Royce O'Neale and Josh Okogie - who could still be headed elsewhere - the veteran's minimum was the only way for the Suns to improve their roster. Once again they performed admirably, signing Jones, Mason Plumlee, Monte Morris and the returning Bol Bol in this way.

But there's no doubt they let Guerschon Yabusele slip through their fingers.

Shams Charania of The Athletic has reported that Yabusele - a former draft pick of the Boston Celtics - is nearing a buyout with his current club Real Madrid, in order to have another crack at the NBA. If you watched the gold medal game between Team USA and France at the Olympic Games in Paris earlier this month, then you'll know exactly why.

The team that has emerged as the suitors to land the still only 28-years-old Yabusele are none other than the Philadelphia 76ers. The organization that has had perhaps the best offseason of all, having prised Paul George away from the L.A. Clippers. Adding Yabusele to their frontcourt depth is a huge get, and the Suns have badly missed a trick here.

It may yet emerge that the 76ers are going to give Yabusele the kind of contract that provides some more financial stability than the minimum that the Suns could have offered. If that's the case then it is what it is, and you move on. But there's no doubt that in the immediate aftermath of that gold medal game, Yabusele likely could have been sold on the minimum as a way back into the league.

Play well for a franchise with high aspirations like the Suns, and his next deal could have been a lucrative one. All of that is out the window now, despite the fact the Suns could have really done with his power at the forward position. The prospect of having Durant either play backup center or spend a lot of time defending at the four is not the best way to use one of the best to ever do it.

What a bonus having Yabusele would have been during the regular season. He's a beefier player than Okogie, while also displaying an ability to hit a couple of 3-pointers if left open. That motor saw him hilariously compared to Ben Wallace - and although that is wide of the mark - the malaise that seeped through the Suns during the regular season last year needs to be fixed urgently.

Yabusele could have helped massively in that regard, but instead he may now be trying to shut down the likes of Booker and Durant when the two teams meet during the regular season. That game might just become appointment viewing with all of the stars on display, plus Yabusele.

We've all been tricked by FIBA play in the past - there's a reason "FIBA Evan Fournier" is a very real thing - but this feels different. Yabusele's impact on the court can be felt on both end, and again the motor is what separates him from a guy like Fournier who at times doesn't look like he wants to be on an NBA court.

The 76ers got a good one, and it's unclear why the Suns didn't try and get him themselves. If it meant ditching a player like Bol then so be it. Which one of Yabusele and Bol could you see making the back end of a playoff rotation? Better yet, which of the two could you trust for three minutes defensively? Exactly.