Milwaukee Bucks: Grades for Ersan Ilyasova’s three-year, $21 million deal

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.

More from Bucks Free Agency

• Remaining free agents who could fill the Milwaukee Bucks’ final roster spot
• 7 free agent targets with ties to new Milwaukee Bucks coach Adrian Griffin
• Ranking Bucks free agents from most to least likely to return next season
• Milwaukee Bucks: Predicting where impending free agents will soon sign
• Milwaukee Bucks: 3 Jeff Teague replacements in 2021 NBA Free Agency

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.