Mirotic is averaging 16.8 points and 6.4 rebounds this season.
The New Orleans Pelicans added frontcourt help Thursday by trading center Omer Asik, guard Jameer Nelson, guard Tony Allen and a protected 2018 first-round pick in exchange for fourth-year Chicago Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic and a 2018 second-round pick, a source confirmed.
The Pelicans’ first-round pick will be top-5 protected. The Bulls will also have the right to swap second-round picks with New Orleans in 2021.
The Pelicans will be getting back the second-round pick that they gave the Bulls in a deal prior to this season that also sent former New Orleans forward Quincy Pondexter to Chicago.
The acquisition of Mirotic should partly fill the void of losing All-Star center DeMarcus Cousins two games ago to a season-ending Achilles injury.
Mirotic, 26, missed this season’s first 23 games after suffering facial fractures and a concussion following a brawl in practice with then-teammate Bobby Portis. Upon his return, he’s statistically enjoying the best season of his career, averaging 16.8 points and 6.4 rebounds in 24.5 minutes and shooting 47.4 percent from the field, 42.9 from 3-point range and 82.3 from the free throw line.
Mirotic played five years in the Euroleague for Real Madrid before being chosen No. 23 overall in the first round by the Houston Rockets in the 2011 NBA Draft. He then was traded twice on draft night, from the Rockets to the Minnesota Timberwolves and then to the Bulls.
Mirotic is making $12.5 million this season and has a team option for the 2018-19 season worth the same amount.
The Pelicans originally didn’t want to guarantee Mirotic’s $12.5 million. But now they have, which allowed the trade that first fell through Tuesday to finally gain approval.
Asik, an eight-year veteran averaging 1.3 points and 2.5 rebounds this season, spent the last four years with the Pelicans after being traded to New Orleans in 2014 from the Rockets in exchange for a 2015 first-round pick. He signed a four-year, $45 million deal in July 2015 to remain with the Pels.
Nelson and Allen, a pair of 14-year vets, both came to New Orleans this season as free agents. Nelson, 35, played 43 games averaging 5.1 points and 3.6 assists. Allen, 36, who just came back from a fractured left fibula, averaged 4.7 points and 2.1 rebounds.
ESPN reported that the Bulls are unlikely to keep Allen. The Pelicans are now $1.6 million below the luxury tax and $2.2 million under the hard cap, giving them enough room to sign two players to prorated minimum exceptions.
Creating that extra cap room should put New Orleans in a better position to pursue free-agent center and New Orleans native Greg Monroe.
Check back with NOLA.com for more news on this developing story.
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