Ersan Ilyasova Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Free Agent Rumors: Mavs, Dragic, Orton, Blazers

July 3rd, 2012 at 8:27pm CST by Luke Adams

Day 3 of NBA free agency is underway, and the July free agent period hasn't lacked for action so far. We'll use this space to track a number of updates on second- and third-tier free agents as the day continues. Here's the latest:

The Warriors, Lakers, and Bobcats are all interested in Antawn Jamison, tweets Yahoo! Sports columnist Marc J. Spears.
The Mavericks might clear cap space for next summer when Dwight Howard and Chris Paul are unrestricted free agents, tweets Yahoo! Sports columnist Adrian Wojnarowski.
Ersan Ilyasova's agent has said his client is seriously considering a "big offer" from a European club, according to HoopsHype.com.
The Timberwolves continued negotiation with Nicolas Batum, Greg Stiemsma, and Jordan Hill on Tuesday, but no deal was reached, writes TwinCities.com's Ray Richardson.

Earlier updates:

Chauncey Billups and Spencer Hawes won't be possibilities for the Trail Blazers, says Jason Quick of the Oregonian (Twitter links).
The Thunder, Hornets, and Wizards have expressed interest in Roger Mason, tweets ESPN.com's Chris Broussard.
Brandon Roy met with the Warriors in the Bay Area on Sunday, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
The Cavaliers and Knicks have expressed some interest in restricted free agent Sonny Weems, says Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
The Pacers may be a long shot for Jamal Crawford, but the club has "legitimate interest" in Carlos Delfino, tweets Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star.
GM David Kahn and the Timberwolves like Greg Stiemsma and "talked numbers" with his agent, but no offer was made, says Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune (Twitter link). The two sides will meet again on Friday.
The Clippers continue to have interest in Jason Terry and J.R. Smith and are talking with both players' reps, according to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times. I imagine the Clips view those players as alternate options if they miss out on Jamal Crawford and Ray Allen.
The Pacers are expected to meet with Gerald Green and Ian Mahinmi in the coming days, tweets Mike Wells of the Indianapolis Star.
Antawn Jamison will meet with the "very interested" Bobcats on Thursday and Friday, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Jamison has previously talked about a desire to finish his career in his hometown of Charlotte.
The Trail Blazers have reached out to Chauncey Billups, who is exploring all his options, says Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com.
If the Pacers decide not to match Portland's offer sheet for Roy Hibbert, they'll turn their attention to Chris Kaman and JaVale McGee, according to ESPN.com's Ric Bucher.
J.R. Smith's brother tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com that he expects J.R. to return to the Knicks.
Terrence Williams is drawing interest from the Kings, Pistons, and Suns, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.
Daniel Orton has emerged as a potential free agent target for the Thunder, tweets Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman.
The Suns are still meeting with Goran Dragic and will likely meet with him again in the next few days, tweets Sean Deveney of the Sporting News.
Now that Deron Williams is headed to the Nets, the Mavericks will target Steve Nashand Jeremy Lin, and focus on re-signing Jason Kidd, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Dallas is not sure whether or not they'll go after Goran Dragic.

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Nets Maintain Interest In Ersan Ilyasova

July 3rd, 2012 at 4:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The Nets still have interest in pursuing Ersan Ilyasova if they're unable to acquire Dwight Howard from the Magic, tweets Fred Kerber of the New York Post. Peter Vecsey of the New York Post first tweeted that Brooklyn would target a sign-and-trade deal for Ilyasova if Howard was unobtainable.

Amico On Gee, Cavs, Ilyasova, Humphries

June 4th, 2012 at 3:15pm CST by Luke Adams

So far this season, rumors surrounding restricted free agent Alonzo Gee have invariably involved the Suns, who are eyeing the Cavs guard and reportedly considering making him a four-year, $16MM offer. According to Sam Amico of FOX Sports Ohio, however, Phoenix isn't the only team preparing to pursue Gee. The Wizards, Celtics, and Rockets will also have the 25-year-old "high on their wish list," says Amico, adding that the Cavs like Gee and hope to keep him. Here are a few more rumblings from around the league courtesy of Amico….

Nets A Frontrunner For Ersan Ilyasova?

June 4th, 2012 at 9:42am CST by Luke Adams

Shortly after the Bucks' season ended, GM John Hammond said "it's not going to be easy" to re-sign Ersan Ilyasova, who had a breakout 2011/12 campaign and finished second in voting for Most Improved Player of the Year. It appears that the Nets are one team the Bucks will need to outbid for Ilyasova's services, as Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times hears from NBA officials that Brooklyn is considered the frontrunner for the power forward.

Nets Notes: Humphries, Garnett, Ilyasova, D-Will

June 1st, 2012 at 11:34am CST by Luke Adams

It's been a rough week for the Nets, who failed to land a top-three pick in Wednesday night's draft lottery, reducing their leverage when it comes to a potential Dwight Howard trade. And speaking of Howard, the lottery results came on the heels of a report by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports that suggested the Nets' chances of re-signing Deron Williams may hinge on being able to acquire Howard. Let's check in once again on the Nets, with a few updates courtesy of Fred Kerber of the New York Post….

Bucks Notes: Ilyasova, Jennings, Hammond, Skiles

May 4th, 2012 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams

Ersan Ilyasova would have been my choice for the NBA's Most Improved Player in 2011/12 if I had a vote, but the Bucks forward finished as the runner-up behind Ryan Anderson. Even without the award, Ilyasova appears poised for a big payday in free agency this summer. Bucks GM John Hammond said today that "it's not going to be easy" to re-sign Ilyasova, though Milwaukee would like to bring him back.

Hammond and Bucks owner Herb Kohl spoke at a news conference today about a number of topics, with Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times rounding up the highlights via Twitter:

A contract extension for Brandon Jennings is "not something we have to do," says Hammond. Jennings is entering the fourth year of his rookie deal and will be eligible for an extension.
Kohl says he has no plans to extend Hammond or coach Scott Skiles this summer. The pair are entering the final year of their respective contracts.
The team will be seeking a "real quality big man," according to Kohl.
Kohl went on the offensive for a new Milwaukee arena, saying he'd put his own money into it, according to Woelfel. However, the owner added that he wants to secure the Bradley Center for the "next several years."

Ryan Anderson Wins Most Improved Player

May 4th, 2012 at 12:35pm CST by Luke Adams

12:35pm: Anderson has officially been named the league's Most Improved Player. Ersan Ilyasova was the runner-up, with Nikola Pekovic, Greg Monroe, and Andrew Bynum rounding out the top five. Jeremy Lin finished sixth.

8:46am: The Magic have announced a press conference for 12:30pm CT today, and Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel tweets that the team and league will announce an award winner at that time: Ryan Anderson will be named the NBA's Most Improved Player.

After averaging 8.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest in 193 games over his first three years in the league, the Magic forward broke out this season, increasing his averages to 16.1 PPG and 7.7 RPG. While an increase in minutes, from 22.3 MPG in 2010/11 to 32.2 MPG in 2011/12, played a part in his increased production, Anderson also set career highs in rate stats like FG% (.439), 3PT% (.393), FT% (.877), and PER (21.2).

Ersan Ilyasova, Jeremy Lin, Goran Dragic, and Nikola Pekovic were among the other players expected to be in the running for the award.

Woelfel On Knicks, Ilyasova, Stackhouse, Fesenko

April 25th, 2012 at 8:29am CST by Luke Adams

Earlier this morning, we passed along a report from Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times on Beno Udrih's decision to exercise his player option this summer. Within the same column, Woelfel also shared a few other items of interest, so let's round those up:

Woelfel is hearing that the Knicks will make a "major push" to hire Phil Jackson as their new coach if the team doesn't make it through the first round of the playoffs. However, a New York Post report suggests that interim coach Mike Woodson has become the odds-on favorite to earn the permanent position after the Knicks named Glen Grunwald their permanent GM.
The "growing consensus" among some NBA officials is that Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova will land a multiyear contract worth about $8MM annually in free agency this summer.
Hawks veteran Jerry Stackhouse is close to ending his playing career and pursuing a coaching position in either college or the pros. "I’m trying to transition into the next phase of my career," Stackhouse said. "I definitely want to be a head coach some day and I’m willing to pay my dues to make it happen."
The Bucks were interested in Kyrylo Fesenko before the big man signed with the Pacers. Said Fesenko: "I had a good workout with the Bucks. I was interested (in signing with them), but they kept asking me to wait and to wait and to wait and I couldn’t wait anymore. I don’t what they were waiting for, a magic moment or what?"

Odds & Ends: Mavs, Beasley, Bucks, Raptors

April 12th, 2012 at 10:32pm CST by Sean Highkin

The latest news and notes from around the NBA on Thursday evening:

Dallas radio hosts Barry Horn and Kevin Sherrington weighed in on a couple of Mavericks issues. Horn believes the Mavs are a better team without Lamar Odom, who was shut down earlier this week.
Sherrington speculates that the Mavs are still interested in acquiring Dwight Howard, especially if they can't sign Deron Williams this summer.
Michael Beasley told Ray Richardson of the Pioneer Press that he wants to stay with the Timberwolves going forward. Beasley is set to become a restricted free agent this summer.
Michael Hunt of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel says the Bucks lack a clear direction for the future and will not contend with their current roster. Hunt believes the first step will be re-signing Ersan Ilyasova this summer.
Doug Smith of the Toronto Star doubts that Raptors 10-day contract signees Ben Uzoh and Justin Dentmon will be anything more than placeholders for the team.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Ersan Ilyasova

April 11th, 2012 at 11:00pm CST by Ryan Raroque

The 2005 NBA draft contained some names considered to be among an intriguing pool of talent at the time: Sean May, the burly and crafty big man who had just won a national title with North Carolina; Julius Hodge, the silky smooth 6'7'' guard out of N.C. State capable of playing both back court positions; Salim Stoudamire, a sweet-shooting off-guard who thrived under the tutelage of legendary coach Lute Olson at Arizona. If you glance at the top 30 selections of that year, you'll find that Yaroslav Korolev, Ike Diogu, and Fran Vazquez were selected in the lottery. All the way at pick number 36 was 17-year-old Turkish forward, Ersan Ilyasova.

Nearly seven years later, Ilyasova is averaging 13.0 PPG and 8.8 RPG while shooting 49.4% from the field and 44.9% from three-point range. The other aforementioned players, all selected before Ersan, are currently not on NBA rosters. Coming off of what will be his most productive NBA season to date, the 6'10'' big man's contract expires this summer and he is looking for a payday. In February, we documented his mindset as it related to his impending free agency:

"It's hard to say where I'll be next season," said the 24-year-old. "It's going to be about the money difference (whether he remains in the NBA or goes overseas). It's always business. I don't want to think about it because I don't want it to affect my game. We'll see what happens."

Ilyasova has started just 36 of the 55 total games he's played this season, and one selling point for an interested team would be to offer a starting role. Milwaukee is also a forward-heavy team having just dealt for Ekpe Udoh, Mike Dunleavy finding a niche in Scott Skiles' rotation, and with Luc Mbah a Moute and Drew Gooden signed through 2014-15. The Bucks own Ilyasova's Bird Rights, so they would be able to retain him for any number up to a max contract. With that being said, unless Milwaukee chooses to break the bank and is willing to deal with a logjam at the forward spot, Ersan could be on his way out.

Last month, we made note that he could be a target for the Nets. I would even say that Dallas could show some interest, as Ilyasova would be a solid consolation addition should they fail in their pursuit of Deron Williams. Regardless of whoever lands him, Ilyasova would be a nice young player who at best is good enough to start. At worst, he has shown he can be a mainstay in a coach's rotation for many years to come.