Detroit Pistons acquire Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova
With the NBA Finals still underway, the Detroit Pistons decided not to wait until the offseason to make their first major move. The Pistons have acquired forward Ersan Ilyasova from the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for Caron Butler and Shawne Williams, as first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
OFFICIAL: The #Pistons have acquired Ersan Ilyasova in exchange for Caron Butler & Shawne Williams. pic.twitter.com/bSqbck1v5V
— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) June 11, 2015
Ilyasova, 28, has played seven years in the NBA (all with Milwaukee) and has career averages of 10.7 PPG, 6.0 RPG while shooting .447 from the field. Last season he averaged 11.5 PPG, 4.8 RPG while shooting .472 from the field overall and .389 from three-point land.
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Ilyasova brings over a two-year contract that’s scheduled to pay him $7.9 million next year with a team option for the 2016-17 season that would pay him $8.4 million.
Ilyasova’s ability to shoot the three from the power forward position, gives Stan Van Gundy the stretch four to partner up with Andre Drummond that he’s been looking for. Ilyasova’s ability to rebound and score anywhere from the floor gives Stan Van Gundy the flexibility he wanted at power forward to spread the floor on offense.
The addition of Ilyasova may foretell the Pistons’ draft plans with the eighth overall pick later this month. Small forward and power forward were going to be the top two needs, but now the need at small forward is clearly greater, if it wasn’t already. This trade makes SVG look smart, as he only had to give up a couple of veteran players in order to obtain the type of player he wanted at power forward.
What do you think of the Ersan Ilyasova trade? Does it give the Pistons the stretch power forward they’ve been looking for? Do they still need to target a power forward in the draft or focus on drafting a small forward with the acquisition of Ilyasova? Share your opinion in the comment section below.
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