There has never been a better time to trade Ersan Ilyasova.

*ducks*

Milwaukee reportedly was peddling the Turkish forward before the draft last season, but couldn’t find an offer to their liking. What exactly would have been to their liking is up for debate, but a first round pick was probably the minimum they would have accepted for the young power forward with an uncertain future, but some upside remaining.

Now? A first round pick seems more than reasonable for one of the league’s hottest players. John Hollinger lists Ilyasova as a member of his “All-Lin Team” compiled of players who would be talked about more right now were Jeremy Lin not setting fire to everything we thought we knew.

He tipped, tapped and touched his way to 25 rebounds against the Nets and tossed in 29 points on a combination of threes, mid-range shots and put backs at the rim. Ersan may not be a star, but, recently blessed with more consistent minutes than he’s ever had before, he’s proving that he’s a legit rebounding force in the league when he’s given the time to be one.

And what potential playoff team couldn’t use a guy like that?

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