Bucks acquire Nikola Mirotic from Pelicans in 3-way trade: reports

The Bucks are acquiring forward Nikola Mirotic on Thursday as part of a three-way trade with the Pelicans and Pistons, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Mirotic, who played the first three and a half seasons of his NBA career with the Bulls before being traded to New Orleans last season, is averaging 16.7 points and 8.3 rebounds per game this season.

The 27-year-old Montenegrin has an impressive combination of 6-foot-10, 250-pound size and a good shooting touch — he’s making 44.7 percent of his field goals and 36.8 percent of his three-pointers this year.

The Mirotic exchange will be coupled in with a Wednesday night Bucks trade that was to send center Thon Maker to the Pistons in exchange for forward Stanley Johnson, which Wojnarowski reported but hadn’t been officially filed. Johnson will be redirected to the Pelicans, who are also expected to receive veteran forward Jason Smith and four second-round picks from the Bucks, per the New York Times’ Marc Stein.