Although it came as a surprise, Ersan Ilyasova‘s deal with the Milwaukee Bucks isn’t difficult to make sense of. How does it grade overall, though?
Considering the uncertainty around Jabari Parker‘s future and the limited flexibility at their disposal, the Milwaukee Bucks were not expected to be among the first teams to make a move when NBA Free Agency opened at 12.01am ET on July 1.
In the end, that’s exactly what happened, though, as for the second year in a row ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski had early Bucks news. On this occasion, it was Ersan Ilyasova agreeing to a deal to return to Milwaukee.
Ersan Ilyasova has agreed to a 3 year, $21M deal with Milwaukee, league source tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2018
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Ilyasova, of course, was drafted by the Bucks back in 2005, and this will mark his third stint with the franchise.
Having worn out his welcome somewhat in his last spell due to a then costly contract and perhaps an element of over-familiarity, Ilyasova has impressed at multiple stops around the league in the years since, and undoubtedly improved the perception of his game throughout the NBA.
In this reunion with the Bucks, Ilyasova will likely have a much more clearly defined role in the second unit than he had previously, and he certainly will have an opportunity to fill a vital role for Milwaukee.
Is this a good deal for the Bucks, though? Let’s consider the value of the deal, the role Ilyasova will likely play and how he fits with the teams current plans to try and find out.