Miroslav Raduljica offers Bucks another big body inside

This is the 11th in a 15-part series running Wednesdays and Fridays profiling each Milwaukee Bucks player leading up to the start of the NBA season.

It takes a large human being to make Larry Sanders look small, but Miroslav Raduljica does just that. Brought over to give the Bucks some size and strength inside, the 7-foot-1, 280-pound center is an unknown.

Signed to a two-year contract with a team option for a third year, the 25-year-old Serbian carries low risk for the Bucks as they take a flier on a big body.

Raduljica has played all seven years of his professional career in Europe, spending last season with the Ukrainian club Azovmash. Draft eligible in 2010, Raduljica was drawing second-round interest before a miscommunication about an injury led teams to sour on him.

Nursing a minor injury, Raduljica's club at the time threatened to withhold his pay if he participated in Eurocamp, Europe's version of the combine. His agent failed to communicate this, leaving NBA scouts and general managers labeling him as a player who dogs it and a bad kid.

The Bucks maintained interest despite what happened but couldn't find who was representing Raduljica when they were interested in negotiating with him. Milwaukee's director of player personnel Dave Babcock eventually got in touch with Raduljica through former Bucks guard and Azovmash teammate Lynn Greer and a deal was struck.

2012-13 stats: 14.2 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 1.1 BPG in 53 league games with Azovmash in the Ukrainian league

2013-14 salary: $1,500,000

Last year: While the numbers above reflect Raduljica's stats in league games, he is coming off a season in which he played an 82-game schedule.

Azovmash also competed in the EuroCup and the VTB United League, composed of teams from Russia and eight other Eastern European countries. Raduljica was on loan to Azovmash from the Turkish club Anadolu Efes, the same club Bucks forward Ersan Ilyasova played on during the NBA lockout in 2011.

Babcock traveled to Spain last November and watched Raduljica score 10 points and grab four rebounds in a 76-70 EuroCup loss to Valencia.

This year: Like Giannis Antetokounmpo, Raduljica is tasked with adjusting to not only an entirely different level of competition, but he also has to get used to living in the United States.

Raduljica should be better prepared to handle the change in culture, as he's seven years older than Antetokounmpo and has lived in foreign countries before. The adaptation to the NBA game will be the biggest challenge for Raduljica.

Bucks coach Larry Drew has had to give Raduljica extended minutes at center due to Milwaukee's injuries in the frontcourt, giving the team a good look at what they have. Drew has been impressed with the way Raduljica has used his body and size to get position but feels the speed of the NBA is just too fast for him at this moment.

When everyone is healthy, Raduljica faces an uphill climb on the depth chart. He's a project and will likely spend this year playing sparingly or when the Bucks need a big body inside for a game.

From the front office: "Very good shooter, very skilled big man. He's very knowledgeable. He's an OK athlete, strong and tough. We've lacked the big physical bodies in the middle and now we have Zaza (Pachulia) and Miroslav. He can almost be Zaza's understudy. Zaza can teach him the ropes of the NBA. We'll see what happens. It's not like this kid (can't play)." -- Bucks director of player personnel Dave Babcock

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