The Detroit Pistons are currently on the outside looking in in the Eastern Conference playoff picture but they have played pretty well and are definitely in the hunt. One of the lowkey acquisitions the Pistons made this offseason was trading for power forward Ersan Ilyasova. Ilyasova has done a nice job for Detroit this season and they have a decision to make on him at the end of the season. As of right now it seems like the Pistons are inclined to pick up that option, according to Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.
Ilyasova is on the books for $7.9 million this year and has a team option for $8.4 million next season. Head coach Stan Van Gundy seems to really like the way the 28 year old plays so he said that the current plan is to pick up the option although things could change between now and the end of the season.
With the cap set to skyrocket after this season $8.4 million is a bargain of a price to be paying for a starting power forward so it seems like injury or extremely poor performance would be the only thing to stop the Pistons from picking up the option.
The Pistons have used the same starting lineup for all 33 of their games so far this season and Ilyasova has been part of that. Ilyasova has been a bit inconsistent at times this year but he's still been pretty good. The 6 foot-10 forward is averaging 10.9 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while making 38 percent of his three pointers. Ilyasova's 14.3 PER is also third on the team behind only Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson.
Before being traded to the Pistons this season Ilyasova spent the first six seasons of his career with the Milwaukee Bucks where he was a regular double-double threat. Ilyasova's role continued to shrink in Milwaukee which led to the trade and now he is a solid role player with Detroit. Ilyasova is a legitimate stretch four and in todays NBA that is very valuable so the Pistons picking up his option would likely be a wise decision.
