Veteran forward Ersan Ilyasova has agreed to sign a one-year, six million dollar contract to remain with the Atlanta Hawks, Shams Charania of The Vertical announced via Twitter.
The Atlanta Hawks have had one of the most surprising off-seasons thus far, going from a top-five seed in the East to being in rebuild mode. This domino chain all began with the trade that sent Atlanta native Dwight Howard to the Charlotte Hornets. The Hawks would then lose Paul Millsap (Nuggets), Tim Hardaway Jr. (Knicks), and Thabo Sefolosha (Jazz) in free agency.
These departures open the door for Ilyasova to start at power forward for the Hawks come opening night. Ilyasova will be one of few veteran leaders on the team to mentor the young backcourt of Dennis Schroder and Kent Bazemore.
This will be the first time since his days in Milwaukee that Ilyasova will open a new season with the same team he ended the previous one in. Since being traded to Detroit in the 2015 offseason, Ilyasova has spent time with five different teams (Detroit, Orlando, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Atlanta).
