Milwaukee made a playoff-minded upgrade going into Thursday’s deadline, acquiring Nikola Mirotic from New Orleans in exchange for four second-round draft picks, Stanley Johnson and Jason Smith. The Bucks are loading up, the Pelicans are restarting, and it’s a deal that makes sense for both parties. This is technically a three-team deal that involves Detroit—the Bucks and Pistons agreed to swap Johnson and Thon Maker on Wednesday, and bringing in the Pistons here facilitates the deal’s legality as Johnson’s salary could not otherwise be combined. Let’s break it down for Milwaukee and New Orleans.
In the past 24 hours, Milwaukee has effectively turned Thon Maker and Jason Smith into Mirotic, which, of course, is an enormous win.