Report: Milwaukee Bucks Waive Ersan Ilyasova

This is an article ostensibly about a report from Shams Charania that the Milwaukee Bucks are waiving Ersan Ilyasova and his $7M contract that was supposed to become guaranteed tomorrow. This article is not actually about Ersan Ilyasova and this $7M contract that was supposed to become guaranteed tomorrow.

This is an article about how, because the Bucks are waiving Ersan Ilyasova, the Bogdan Bogdanovic sign-and-trade deal is (basically) officially dead in the water. Ersan’s $7M was a key part of the Bucks’ ability to match salaries in that deal so they could get near the ~$14.5M that Bogdanovic would’ve theoretically started at as a member of the Milwaukee Bucks.

So, despite the glimmer of hope that we might’ve had that this in fact was an elaborate ruse to cover their butts on tampering, it really feels like the Serbian ship has officially set sail for (probably) pricier waters. Now, the Bucks will be forced to find alternative ways to upgrade their roster, barring some miraculous sequence of moves that somehow nets Bogdan still returning to Milwaukee. They’ll have the full mid-level exception still, but that likely won’t provide someone of Bogdanovic’s caliber.

For Ersan, a Bucks legend, he will depart his second stint in Milwaukee $14M richer, older, wiser, and in search of someone to utilize the waning days of his HOF-worthy charge-taking ability. We salute you Ersan for your service and I say this with all sincerity, I wish you were going to Sacramento.