Free agency - MLE type guys you'd like to see

[paulpressey25]

I'd love to sign Duhon for much less.....but what seems to happen over the summer is these type of guys (Charlie Bell, Kevin Ollie, Greg Buckner, etc, etc) all seem to end up with 4-5 years deals at $12 to $15mm.

Granted there has been much more payroll austerity the last two seasons.....but Duhon is a true PG that has proven he can defend. He's only 25-years old and can start for you in a pinch if needed.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/players/s ... yerId=2377

[Chuck Diesel]

Chuck Diesel

Any chance of bringing Ersan back over for 2008/09 at all?? IMO I think he is pretty similar to Nachbar. About the same as far as shooting goes, and Ersan probably rebounds, blocks, and plays D a little bit better.

I think really depends on a number of factors.


1. The Ersan situation probably changed when Larry Harris was fired. I'm not sure if Hammond will have the same feelings towards Ilyasova that Harris did and might not make as much of an effort to bring Ersan back to Milwaukee. Then again, the Bucks retained Dave Babcock and he remains in contact with Ilyasova, so we'll see. Ersan did have a career game against Scott Skiles's Bulls last season.

2. There are a number of people who believe Ettore Messina (current coach of powerhouse CSKA Moscow) is the coach in waiting in Barcelona. If that's the case Messina is expected to bring his own players to Spain, and Ersan could be out of the mix there.

From a purely financial perspective, Ersan would be better served playing out the final year of his contract overseas. He would be making over two million euros and have shor at raising his profile in hopes of earning a better NBA contract next year. Right now I'm not sure how many NBA teams would be willing to throw much more than the minimum Ersan's way. But European contracts seem to be honored as about as well as college coach's contracts, so it gets a little confusing. I'm not sure if Barcelona can just cut ties with Ersan or not without owing any money, but if Ilyasova does have his own opt out contract this summer if he wishes to return to the NBA

From a basketball perspective he should only stay in Europe if he's getting a lot of minutes. It doesn't do anyone any good to have Ilyasova sitting riding the pine in Europe.

3. There is a new rumor going around (stress rumor) that lottery prospect Danilo Gallinari and his father (a former professional player himself) believe Gallinari needs more seasoning before he comes to the NBA, and that Gallinari is willing to sign a massive contract with Barcelona. Again this is a rumor, but Barcelona did a similar thing a few years ago when they signed lottery pick Fran Vasquez to a mega deal. If Gallinari were to sign with Barcelona If that were to happen I think it would end Ilyasova's run with the team.

[Chuck Diesel]

As far as the Nachbar comparison, I think he would be a good player for Ersan to pattern his game after. Nachbar is light years ahead of Ilyasova offensively. He has a reliable jump shot, knows when to attack the basket and can move the ball around without thinking too hard. Ilyasova has improved in the IQ department, but he still has a ways to go. Ersan probably does has better athletic tools and might be more athletic defensively, but he needs to put it together.