Ersan Ilyasova, who signed with the Jazz earlier this week, won’t get rushed into action, according to Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. Ilyasova bided his time in free agency, waiting for an opportunity this season, until Utah came calling.
“I think he’s anxious to contribute in any way that he can,” coach Quin Snyder said. “We don’t expect him to show up and be ready to go right away. That’s not to say that he won’t be in many senses, but there’s an adjustment period, and we’re patient with him. I want him to be patient with himself.”
Ilyasova jumped at the chance to join the team with the league’s best record, as a story posted on the team’s website notes. The veteran forward played for the Bucks the past two seasons.
“The communication is there. They trust each other,” he said. “I watched the games before — the way they play and the chemistry is at a high level. When you see the way they play, share the ball, move the ball, everybody back each other, this is what it takes to win a championship.”
We have more on the Jazz:
- The team will allow more fans into Vivint Smart Home Arena during the second half of the season, Tony Jones of The Athletic tweets. Utah will host a max of 5,600 fans into the arena, which has a capacity of 18,300.
- An article in The Athletic last spring suggested that the relationship between Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert was irreparably damaged after Mitchell believed he contracted COVID-19 from his teammate. However, the two All-Stars are on very good terms now and that earlier report actually helped them patch things up, Mitchell told Jones in an in-depth article. “It brought out a level of determination in both of us that we never had,” Mitchell said. “I never had a controversy like that. Here we were, the two pillars of the team, and we had to go to the playoffs in two months. It brought out a different level of tenacity in both of us.”
- Are Gobert and Jordan Clarkson the frontrunners for Defensive Player of the Year and Sixth Man of the Year, respectively? Join our discussion on the NBA’s 2020/21 awards right here.
It could be Utah over Milwaukee in the finals. If so the decision to drop Illyasova will be scrutinized. Just sayin’, I advocated that, but to make room for Dario Saric! The call to put all the chips for Jrue, that was risky, probably an attempt to get Giannis to sign, which he did. But… I doubt Giannis was going anywhere anyway. We may never know bc he will say he intended to remain regardless to optimize popularity.
They definitely could’ve used him all this season. He’s better than any big they’ve got off the bench defensively.
Absolutely NOT Utah versus Milwaukee in the finals.
It’ll be Brooklyn versus whoever survives the West.. that’s not Utah. Lakers? Clippers? Denver? Perhaps Portland now that they have wings. But not Utah. They are a one-man team just like Dallas and just like the Warriors. The one star goes down and you can kiss success goodbye.
Nets n Lakers yo
What happens to the Blazers if they lose Dame?
What happens to the Clippers if they lose Kawhi?
Imo both of those teams would be done as well. PG, Morris and Lou aren’t going to get it done, neither are CJ, Jurkic and Melo
It’s an intriguing What If.
Honestly I think a big reason MIL has struggled in the postseason is Middleton’s play dropping off.
The last two playoffs – and esp in the bubble – he’s been a below avg player. If Middleton can just be Middleton then I think the Jrue stuff will be fine, and Milwaukee will make a solid run.
Altho they may have missed their window with Brooklyn now in the mix.
Neither the Bucks nor the Jazz are going to the Finals. The decision to drop Illyasova won’t even be remembered, he’s old and washed. There’s a reason he only got 15mpg in his last season with the Bucks. I like Ersan, but the comments about him on these boards the last few days – people are talking about him as if he’s Aaron Gordon.
Ersan cannot defend.
Ersan has no lateral movement.
Ersan can’t attack the rim.
What the Bucks need is for Giannis to play the 4 or 5 full time, spend less time on the ball, and let Jrue run point. But because Bud is Bud, Milwaukee would benefit more from bringing back Jabari Parker or giving Thanasis more PT than what retaining Ersan would’ve given them.
Also – shout out to Bobby Portis and the awesome season he’s having off the bench. He’s the specific reason the Bucks didn’t bring back Ersan, and the reason why that decision won’t be scrutinized.
The Bucks will not beat the Nets. The Nets have 3 players that can finish games. Bucks have 1 and he can’t hit free Throws. Plus The Nets are no.1 for buyouts. Drummond will be a Net.
Casual fans don’t see how the Jazz operate as a group every game. That’s not going to change on the playoffs. They have the “next man up” mentality. They would simply rely on Bojan, Clarkson and Conley more for outside scoring. They would go to Gobert more and Ingles. Even Royce is capable of scoring 25.
Ersan is insurance and he’s a skilled player. The Jazz don’t need to him to attack the basket. He shoots it so high that it’s near impossible to block. Plus, he is very good at using glass from anywhere. I’m sure he’ll pick up some nice tricks from Bojan, Ingles, and even Clarkson. Should be fun to see him integrated.
Also, keep in mind, the Jazz are always open to trades. Although, I imagine if they did a trade this deadline then it’ll either be small or huge. Doubt they’d do a trade just for trading sakes. There’s a couple guys I could see them trading, maybe young guys.
However, given their chemistry this year I doubt they want to mess that up. That’s why signing Ersan is nice. He’s a very smart guy and player. He’s also very friendly. Should fit in quickly!
I don’t think the Bucks gave up on Illyasova as much as they went all-out for Jrue.
EI was declining from the previous year, but will we see a further-declined EI, or a rested one? Whichever, Utah will likely utilize him optimally.