The Milwaukee Bucks have acquired forward Nikola Mirotic from the New Orleans Pelicans in a three-team deal. The Bucks will also send forward Thon Maker to the Detroit Pistons and center Jason Smith, along with four future second-round draft picks to the Pelicans. Detroit will send forward Stanley Johnson to New Orleans to complete the trade. “We are thrilled to add such a talented player in Nikola Mirotic to our roster,” said Bucks General Manager Jon Horst. “He is a skilled, two-way player who fits extremely well into our system. He shoots at a high percentage from beyond the arc, rebounds and defends at his position and provides depth to our frontcourt. “We thank Thon and Jason for their contributions to the Bucks and wish them well.” Mirotic, 27, is averaging career-highs in both points (16.7) and rebounds (8.3) per game in 2018-19 while shooting 44.7 percent from the field and 36.8 percent from three in 32 games (22 starts). He’s tallied 10 games with at least 20 points, including two games with 30 or more points, and 11 double-doubles this season while knocking down multiple 3-pointers in 23 of his 32 games played. Originally selected with the 23rd overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft, Mirotic, 6-foot-10, holds career averages of 12.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per contest, appearing in 305 career games with both the Pelicans and Chicago Bulls. The Montenegro native has averaged at least 10.0 points per game in each of his five seasons and earned All-Rookie honors following his rookie season in 2014-15. Maker, who was selected by the Bucks with the 10th overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, was averaging 4.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 35 games with the Bucks this season. He appeared in 166 games (46 starts) with Milwaukee over three seasons and averaged 4.5 points and 2.6 rebounds in 13.3 minutes per contest. Smith was acquired by the Bucks from the Wizards in a three-team trade on Dec. 7, 2018. He appeared in six games with Milwaukee and averaged 2.2 points and 1.8 rebounds in 6.7 minutes per contest. In his 10th season, Smith holds career averages of 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds over 614 games. Milwaukee’s roster now stands at 16 players.<doc-sep>The past week has been as hectic as ever, but the actual deadline day has been a bit slow so far. So far, one of the bigger deals of the day involves the Milwaukee Bucks, who have been active in the trade market throughout the season. According to reports from Adrian Wojnarowski and Marc Stein, the Bucks have agreed to a deal with the New Orleans Pelicans to acquire Nikola Mirotic in exchange for Stanley Johnson, Jason Smith and four second-round picks. Here are the grades for each team. Milwaukee Bucks: A Milwaukee receives: Nikola Mirotic The Bucks have made some big changes this season. First, they brought in new head coach Mike Budenholzer over the summer, and signed Brook Lopez and Ersan Illyasova. Then, earlier in the season, they swung a trade for veteran point guard George Hill. So far, it's been a roaring success. They have the best record in the league at 40-13, the best defense (103.7 defensive rating) and the best net rating (plus-9.9 points per 100 possessions). Now, in picking up Mirotic, they've made another move to improve their revamped offense. The veteran forward is pretty much a perfect fits for the Bucks' five-out offense. He's shooting 36.8 percent from 3-point land this season, and is yet another big that the Bucks can put around Giannis Antetokounmpo. Mirotic will help space the floor and open up even more room for the Greek Freak to operate. And to get him, all they had to give up was Smith, who barely plays, Johnson, who they got for Thon Maker earlier this week, and some second-round picks. Even if Mirotic only ends up being a rental for the Bucks, this is a great bit of business for them. They have a chance to contend for a title, and they're really going for it. According to SportsLine data scientist Stephen Oh, the move gives Milwaukee a big boost to win the East, while also improving its title odds. Bucks Wins Win% East odds Title odds Before trade 59.8 72.9% 23.1% 2.8% After trade 61.1 74.5% 32.1% 5.6% IMPACT +1.3 +1.6% +9% +2.8% New Orleans Pelicans: B New Orleans receives: Jason Smith Stanley Johnson Four second-round picks After getting to the second round of the playoffs last spring, the Pelicans had high hopes for this season. Unfortunately for them, injuries derailed the early part of the season, and Anthony Davis' trade request has prevented them from ever getting back on track. With Davis expected to be gone by this summer at the latest, the Pelicans need to transition into a rebuild, and moving their veterans is the first step. Mirotic is going to be an unrestricted free agent in the summer, so it especially made sense to try and move him before losing him for nothing. In the end, they did a decent job. Smith is simply salary filler, so that's whatever, but Johnson is former top-10 pick and they'll get a few months to evaluate him before he becomes an unrestricted free agent. He hasn't ever developed in the way the Pistons hoped, and can't shoot -- like, at all. Still, he's only 22 years old and a pretty versatile defender. This isn't a bad flyer for the Pelicans to take. Plus, they got four different second-round picks. And while that's certainly no guarantee, it's never bad to give yourself a bunch of extra chances in the draft. This isn't the greatest haul of all time, but they certainly could have done worse for a few months of Mirotic.<doc-sep>Brian Windhorst likes the Bucks' deal to acquire Nikola Mirotic from the Pelicans for Jason Smith, Stanley Johnson and four second-round picks. (1:41) The Milwaukee Bucks have acquired Nikola Mirotic from the New Orleans Pelicans in exchange for Jason Smith, Stanley Johnson and four second-round picks, the teams announced Thursday. The deal also includes the Detroit Pistons, who had traded Johnson to the Bucks for Thon Maker on Wednesday. The Pelicans will receive second-round picks from the Bucks in 2019 (via Denver), 2020 (two, via Washington and Milwaukee) and 2021 (via Washington). Mirotic, who is making $12.5 million this season, will be an unrestricted free agent this summer. In 32 games this season, he is averaging career highs in points (16.7) and rebounds (8.3). He's also making 2.7 3-pointers per game, tied for ninth in the NBA. The Bucks are averaging 13.3 made 3-pointers per game, which ranks second behind Houston (15.4). Johnson, 22, is averaging 7.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in his fourth NBA season. He was the eighth overall pick in the 2015 draft. A first-round pick in 2007, the 32-year-old Smith is averaging 3.2 points and 2.7 rebounds this season. He joined the Bucks after being acquired from Washington in a three-team trade in December that also included Cleveland. ESPN's Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.<doc-sep>
Nikola Mirotic is saying goodbye to the New Orleans Pelicans on trade-deadline day. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) The New Orleans Pelicans have agreed to send Nikola Mirotic to the Milwaukee Bucks, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. He cited a source with Zach Lowe. Sources with Zach Lowe: Nikola Mirotic to Milwaukee. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 7, 2019 The Bucks will send Jason Smith and Stanley Johnson to New Orleans. Wojnarowski reported that the deal also includes the Detroit Pistons. New Orleans-Milwaukee trade will include Pistons and send multiple second-road picks to the Pelicans for Mirotic, league sources tell ESPN. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 7, 2019 The fifth-year power forward is averaging 16.7 points and 8.3 rebounds over 32 games for the Pelicans. Mirotic, who will turn 28 next week, was traded to New Orleans last year and helped the team to the Western Conference semifinals. The move will give a boost to the NBA-leading Bucks (40-13), who are preparing for their own playoff push in the Eastern Conference. [Keep up with every trade to know at the NBA deadline] According to Marc Stein, the Pelicans will get four second-round picks in the deal. Two of those are from the Washington Wizards, per Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated. Two of the second-round picks New Orleans will acquire from Milwaukee are Washington's suddenly very intriguing 2020 and 2021 selections, according to a source. — Jake Fischer (@JakeLFischer) February 7, 2019 The Bucks acquired Johnson in a Wednesday trade that sent center Thon Maker to the Detroit Pistons. Johnson, 22, is averaging 7.5 points and 3.6 rebounds in his fourth season and becomes a restricted free agent in 2019. Story continues Smith, 32, is day-to-day with left knee soreness. He played in six games for the Bucks this year, totaling 13 points. He was traded from the Washington Wizards in early December. More from Yahoo Sports: • Gronk’s parade ‘injury’ was extremely on-brand • College coaching legend takes first XFL job • Who’s the girl in the NFL 100 Super Bowl ad? • NBA’s most valuable team is one of its worst