Ersan Appreciation

[Jackattaq]

I know a lot of people get down on Ersan for his man to man defense, but I gotta say, I'm glad he is a Piston. He plays that gritty game and does the dirty work that other primadonnas don't want to. I never realized the amount of charges that he takes defensively. He's also a gritty rebounder and tries hard to challenge shots (despite limited successes). He is a reliable shooter with a crafty edge to his offensive game. He's not a shot-whore, and to a fault passes up good shots. I have to say though, I really have enjoyed watching him put himself in the way of several freight trains for the better of team. He's a guy that doesn't seem to care about individual play and personal successes. He's quietly becoming a favorite of mine.

I have to say that the shot he made in the 4th that was off-balanced as the shot clock was running down, was AWESOME, Houston had gained ground and was coming at the Pistons pretty hard. Ersan ran the floor hard and just made plays for the Pistons.

So here is to a little love for Ilyasova.

GO PISTONS !!!!

[Shady_]

[Bakuto]

I'm unfamiliar with his type of contract. Only a portion is guaranteed, does that mean we only pay him that if we decline his option? I'd love to see him around next year, even if it means off of the bench.

[Kilo]

He's a back-up on a contender IMO, but in the rotation, so it would be a case where the starting PF would be the back-up center sorta deal so he could get 20-25 MPG off the bench. Will be interesting to see if we keep him next year given Stanley and Mook here and wanting to have max money for free agent spending. I think you pick up his option even if it's just to trade him. $8.5M in the new cap era is quite the bargain for Ersan IMO so he wouldn't be hard to trade.

[whitehops]

I'm unfamiliar with his type of contract. Only a portion is guaranteed, does that mean we only pay him that if we decline his option? I'd love to see him around next year, even if it means off of the bench.

i think he has something like $400k guaranteed next year, if we cut him we only have to pay him that (and only the $400k goes against our cap). If we keep him next year he gets the full $8 million. i wouldn't be surprised if we kept him, especially considering how crazy contracts are these days. basically any "grandfathered" contract is a bargain which makes it hard to justify cutting him for that much.



on a side note, i'm now not surprised why he has been so injury prone in his career. those charges he takes are vicious. he tried to take a charge from westbrook when westbrook was going full speed, which is insane lol.

[Arp590]

Been saying it since game 1, Ersan has been great.

[Laimbeer]

Well worth 8M under the new cap, IMO.

[DBC10]

He's worth it more than Baynes so he's here for some time.

But yeah like someone said, on a really good team, Ersan would be a legit backup 4 capable of giving you hustle points and drawing key charges. Same with Marcus Morris.

[Spider156]

This team believe it or not is just one solid/star PF away from being a Playoff lock. Keep in mind Jennings and Meeks are good scorers and would probably add up to 15-20 PPG if they were playing depending on minutes. Also ball movement to involve others. Horford would be perfect here since he can knock down the outside shot. I'd give him a good contract to come here. If by next year we get that player, I would consider signing Ilyasova for another 2-3 years. Start Stanley Johnson.

[tmorgan]

Agreed.

We're probably stuck with Baynes given what we paid him (he's not bad, but I doubt there's a trade market), but attempting to sign Horford needs to be priority #1 next summer.

Drummond at C, with Baynes and Horford as backups
Horford at PF, with Ilyasova and Morris as backups
Johnson at SF, with Morris as backup
KCP at SG, with Meeks and Hilliard as backups
Jackson at PG, with (?, draft pick) and maybe Dinwiddie as backups

Jennings will probably go elsewhere. Tolliver, Blake, and Anthony move on. Not sure about Bullock. In short, we need a better bench moving forward.

[Blkbrd671]

love me some illy. hasn't been the prettiest but seems to be coming around.

[Pugz]

like him or not, im under the assumption hes getting cut after the year. possibly to be brought back. his money is too valuable.

[dVs33]

He's been solid. I wish he was more aggressive though. He pump fakes too much. Other than that, he is what he is. I'm happy he's been healthy more than anything.

[El Chivo]

would like to see him more loose. let it fly once you got an open look!

[Jackattaq]

I just love that he's a banger out there, not in the traditional sense of moving people around inside the paint, but he just risks his body and he doesn't seem to be affected by big game moments. Some guys won't take that "money shot" in the 4th. He's stepped up and given us some big shots down the stretch. He seems to help stop some of the runs from opponent's with a big three pointer here or there. He's just a guy that is easy for me to root for. I wish he were a bit more aggressive offensively, I think he could become a bigger piece of the offense if that part of his game comes around. He still seems to be taking a backseat to the starters on offense. I wonder if he were more of a focal point offensively running with the 2nd unit if he would get more points and shots up? He can create a bit off the dribble and our 2nd unit is dreadful offensively. Just a way to get him a bit more involoved.

[Ghost]

I was ecstatic when I heard we added him to the roster. I love how he has such a team - first game to his play and he just fits right in. He will just go out and give 100% while trying to help the team win. His defense can be/is questionable but the fact he takes all those charges just makes me like him.
He's one of those guys who annoys the **** out of other teams and can help swing momentum. I always felt like that while I watched Det play Mil, he would always take some charge or hit a 3 and I'd be flipping over in my chair.

[Liqourish]

My only criticism of Ersan is for him to shoot the open shot more often. I've seen him pass up a number of open looks for absolutely no reason. We got him for his shooting to open the offense. He has to knock those down to open up the lanes for Jackson and paint for Andre. Everything else has been wonderful. His defense is actually better than I thought it was. He's not elite by any means, but he hustles and is scrappy. He will lead the league in drawn charges, IMO.

[Jackattaq]

Ersan with another great game last night against the Pacers, 20 points and the chemistry he displayed with KCP running the court and finding each other for open shots was great. I love the dirty work, but seeing him taking charges, getting rebounds AND scoring 20 points.

GO ERSAN. He's a big part of this team when things are clicking.

[hoophabit]

He seems to be finding his way with the current roster and has looked better as the season progressed. Have to give SVG credit for his ability to improve the team while giving up very little. If Ersan can stay reasonably healthy he'll be definite plus.

[MotownMadness]

When he's open he's almost automatic