Ersan Ilyasova
The Milwaukee Bucks pulled off a deal today in what is believed to be a move to create salary cap space.
The Bucks sent veteran forward Ersan Ilyasova to the Detroit Pistons for forwards Caron Butler and Shawne Williams.
Butler spent part of the 2013-14 season with the Bucks. He averaged 11 points, 4.6 rebounds and 24.1 minutes in 34 games before being waived on Feb. 27, 2014. Butler finished that season with the Oklahoma City Thunder, then signed with Detroit last season.
With the Pistons, Butler averaged 5.9 points, 2.5 rebounds and 20.8 minutes in 78 games.
Williams is well traveled, spending his six NBA seasons with Indiana, Dallas, New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles (Lakers), Miami and Detroit. Over his career, Williams averaged 5.6 points and 3.0 rebounds a game.
Ilyasova played all seven of his NBA seasons with the Bucks in Milwaukee. Ilyasova averaged 10.7 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 453 NBA games with 257 starts. He was originally selected by the Bucks with the 35th overall pick in the 2005 NBA Draft.
If the Bucks do end up waiving the contracts of Butler and Williams, they’ll have $22-million in salary cap space heading into the 2015-16 season.
Pre-Draft workouts
The Bucks had six players in for pre-draft workouts today, including Marquette shooting guard Matt Carlino and UCLA forward Kevon Looney.
The Bucks hold the 17th and 46th picks in the upcoming 2015 draft.