Los Angeles Lakers: 3 free-agent power forwards to still pursue

3. Ersan Ilyasova

You want to talk about veteran power forwards who are going to sign for the minimum and provide three-point shooting off the bench? Look no further than Ersan Ilyasova, who has served that exact role for various teams in recent years to keep his career alive.

Ilyasova was waived by the Milwaukee Bucks before the 2020-21 season began and stayed unemployed until the Utah Jazz signed him in March of 2021. Ilyasova did not play a huge role on the Jazz, averaging just 8.7 minutes per game, but he did what the team asked of him.

We are not going to sugarcoat this and pretend like Ilyasova would be some hugely impactful player. Millsap can have an impact and Patterson at least has the heat-check potential. Ilyasova would be nothing more than regular-season depth that can shoot off the bench.

And that is just fine! If the team is using a roster spot on Jared Dudley then it should have no problem using it on someone such as Ilyasova if it comes to that. It obviously should not be the team’s go-to option, but there is nothing wrong with having a veteran like Ilyasova get 10 minutes a game max and hit some open shots.

It is better to have depth than no depth at all and the power forward position is the one that currently needs depth the most. Ilyasova is not the best option, but he would be just fine if signed.