Ersan in Barcelona

Ersan Ilyasova officially signed with Barcelona yesterday on a two-year deal. The Bucks will retain his early Bird rights so long as they don't withdraw his $945k qualifying offer, meaning they will have first dibs on him should he return to the NBA in two years. Ilyasova's deal is rumored to be worth a tax-free €2.5 million per season, which means the Bucks would have needed something in the ballpark of $5 million per season to match it on a net basis, a hefty sum for a player not guaranteed to see regular minutes (insert Jake Voskuhl joke here). He should see plenty of action in Barcelona next season under new coach Dusko Ivanovic.