Spain-based TuBasket today has some scintillating sound bites regarding Ersan Ilyasova, the Milwaukee Bucks forward who signed a contract containing the now just-about-requisite NBA out clause with Euroleague squad Anadolu Efes, and Real Madrid’s top-paid player Rudy Fernandez.
Leading off the story is Ilyasova’s line “I want to stay [with] Anadolu Efes. I hope FIBA has a rule that allows me to play the entire season in Turkey.” Perhaps not such a big deal, Tu points out, except that “the Turkish power forward still has a one-year contract with the Bucks at a salary of $2.5 million (€1.9 million).”
Said Ilyasova, “We will fight in the Turkish league and the Euroleague. Our goal for the season is to reach the Euroleague Final Four played in Istanbul. We know we are in a difficult group, but we have to go step by step.”
Tu Basket also noted that another reason for Ilyasova’s desire to continue his sojourn back home is a “lack of social life he has in the U.S.”
Indeed, Ilyasova somehow breaking his contract would set precedent for other NBAers starting the 2011-12 season in Europe, including, as Tu points out, Rudy Fernandez, who signed a lucrative four-year, €12 million deal with Real Madrid.
Real Madrid technical director Alberto Herreros stated that he “would do anything possible, including negotiating with the [Dallas Mavericks] to keep [Fernandez] around for as long as possible.”
