Milwaukee Bucks: Grading the offseason acquisitions after 23 games

Ersan Ilyasova

Ersan Ilyasova signed a three-year, $21-million contract with the Bucks within minutes of NBA free agency officially starting. It was a bit surprising, not only because it happened so fast, but for the amount of money and length of the deal.

Ilyasova has been contributing for teams his entire career, and $7 million per season isn’t bad, but a three-year deal for a 31-year-old big man who was never considered an athletic marvel was puzzling to some.

But Horst and Budenholzer felt Ilyasova would fit into what the Bucks were looking to become this season, as Ilyasova provided defense, rebounding and outside shooting. Not to mention that it was Ilyasova’s third stint with the Bucks and he was always a fan favorite.

It was a bit of a gamble by Horst, but a quarter of the way through the season, it seems to have paid off.

So far this season, Budenholzer has used Ilyasova as his sixth man, regularly having him be the first sub off the bench (besides one spot start in place of an injured Giannis), and it’s safe to say that Ilyasova has thrived in the role.

Like Lopez, Ilyasova’s stats don’t jump off the page, averaging 7.5 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, but also like Lopez, he’s having his most efficient season offensively in years.

Ilyasova is averaging the fewest minutes per game since his rookie year this season, but he’s making the most of his opportunities. He’s only attempting 5.4 field goals per game, and most of those come after offensive rebounds, but he’s having a career-best year when it comes to effective field goal percentage at 56 percent.

As a result, it’s no surprise that his current offensive rating is his best since the 2011-12 season when he was just 24-years-old.

His offense has no doubt been very good, but his biggest contributions come from his rebounding prowess.

Ilyasova has been a rebounding specialist for practically his entire time in the NBA, and it was a major reason why the Bucks were willing to commit to him for multiple years to try and fix their horrible rebounding as a team.

It’s almost like when Budenholzer puts Ilyasova in the game he tells him, “go get some boards.” And Ilyasova obliges.

Ilyasova’s defensive rebounding percentage, offensive rebounding percentage and total rebounding percentage are the best since his best years over five years ago. I mentioned that Lopez keeps opponents off the glass, well it seems Ilyasova is scooping up all those boards.

Suffice to say, Ilyasova is doing exactly what the Bucks wanted from him when they signed him. He’s rebounding at a high rate and being efficient on offense with limited playing time.

There will still be some detractors when it comes to Ilyasova’s contract, and by the time that third-year rolls around and Ilyasova is 33 and earning $7 million a year, it could be a bad look.

But for now, Ilyasova is earning every cent he was paid and being the type of role player that every championship-level team needs. He gets down and dirty to keep the stars like Giannis, Middleton and Bledsoe clean, and so far he’s worth every penny.

Grade: B+