Trade Grades: Pistons get Ilyasova from Bucks

The deal

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Pistons get: Ersan Ilyasova

Bucks get: Caron Butler, Shawne Williams

Detroit: B+

In the year he's spent with the Pistons as head coach and president of basketball operations, Stan Van Gundy has bargain-hunted for a stretch power forward. He acquired Anthony Tolliver in a trade last season with the Phoenix Suns and claimed Williams off waivers. Neither player has the pedigree of Ersan Ilyasova, a 37 percent career 3-point shooter who has started off and on throughout his seven seasons with the Bucks.

Detroit gave up only two players with non-guaranteed contracts, so Ilyasova is essentially a free-agent signing for the team. His contract looks reasonable in that context. Ilyasova will make $7.9 million in 2015-16, a fair salary if he starts and not a terrible one if he comes off the bench.

What role Ilyasova plays will depend in large part on what happens with big man Greg Monroe, an unrestricted free agent. While Ilyasova will be positioned as a replacement for Monroe, I don't think it's inconceivable that both players could be part of a three-man rotation in the Pistons' frontcourt along with center Andre Drummond, with Ilyasova essentially upgrading Tolliver's spot.

More likely, Monroe will head elsewhere after deciding to play last season for the qualifying offer rather than re-signing with Detroit as a restricted free agent. In that case, the Pistons won't have to find a starting power forward, giving them multiple options with their remaining cap space. Without Monroe's cap hold, Detroit would have somewhere between $19-22 million in room under the cap along with Bird rights on restricted free agent Reggie Jackson. As a result, this move doesn't necessarily preclude a max offer.

As for Ilyasova, this could be a great opportunity. His value has fluctuated with his 3-point percentage throughout his career, and Van Gundy's offense is as friendly to stretch-4s as any in the league. Additionally, playing with Drummond will help cover for Ilyasova's subpar defensive rebounding. It's easy to see Ilyasova thriving for the Pistons.

It's certainly also possible that Ilyasova could struggle again with injuries (he has lost a combined 45 games to injury the past two seasons) and miss 3-pointerss (like he did in 2012-13, when he shot 28.2 percent from beyond the arc). But Ilyasova's contract limits the downside for Detroit. Just $400,000 of his $8.4 million salary in 2016-17 is guaranteed, per BasketballInsiders.com research, meaning the Pistons can just cut him loose and take their cap space a year later.

Milwaukee: B-

For the Bucks, this deal is a salary dump. Milwaukee will likely waive Butler (due to make $4.5 million in 2015-16) before his contract becomes guaranteed on July 1 and could also waive Williams ($1.4 million with no guarantee date). That would give the Bucks $21.8 million in cap space, assuming Jared Dudley opts into the final season of his contract for $4.25 million.

So what might Milwaukee do with that cap room? Presumably, the Bucks will look for a long-term solution at center, where 31-year-old Zaza Pachulia emerged as a starter after Larry Sanders left the team midseason and was eventually waived. There are plenty of starting centers on the market, and Milwaukee now has the ability to offer a max contract.

It remains to be seen whether the Bucks can sign a player substantially better than Ilyasova and the cap space they would have had otherwise (about $13.9 million). However, Ilyasova's role was likely to be squeezed a bit by the return of Jabari Parker from ACL surgery. Since Milwaukee got good results from small lineups with Dudley at power forward, Ilyasova could have found his minutes limited. As a result, the chance of locking up a free agent on a contract that ages well as the salary cap increases was worth letting Ilyasova go.