Chicago gets:
New Orleans 2018 1st round pick (protected 1-5, 1-8 in 2019, 1-10 in 2020, 1-9 in 2021, and converts to 2022 and 2023 2nd round picks)
Right to swap 2021 2nd round picks
Right to swap 2021 2nd round picks
The full protections on the 1st rounder New Orleans is sending doesn't really matter since it's unlikely that it will fall in the top-5 this year given that it's currently #17 with their 27-23 record, but we now have all the details of this trade after Woj tweeted them this morning. We also now know that recently bought out center Greg Monroe has chosen to sign with the Celtics for more money and better playoff odds, but that doesn't change the fact that the process behind this move, which cleared roster space and room under the Luxury Tax for the Louisiana native, was sound. The Pelicans went from just $706,678 under that threshold to $1,703,383, so they can still pursue other big men options to help fill the void left after DeMarcus Cousins unfortunately tore his Achilles.
A lot of the available minutes will go to Mirotic, of course, as he is a great stretch-four option with Anthony Davis shifting up to center, and picking up his team option for next season shouldn't have been as big of an issue as it was earlier in the week when this trade initially fell apart. Since he felt the chilled market last summer as a restricted free agent and had to settle for the one year deal with the option attached, he gained the ability to reject any trade since the acquiring team would lose his Bird rights. Mirotic rightfully leveraged the situation for the security of the $12.5 million being picked up, and then since he was no longer on a one year contract, his consent was no longer needed. I've seemingly always been higher on his ability than most, but he is certainly justifying that salary now with 16.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game in just 24.9 minutes on 47.4%/42.9%/82.3% shooting.
Yes, they'll enter the summer just about $27 million below the Tax before re-signing Cousins and filling out the other 2-5 spots on the roster, but they added a good player on a fine contract that is barely more expensive than what they owed Asik next season, anyway. It's not ideal that they've basically traded away every 1st round pick since Davis, leading to this expensive situation, but this should be a huge W for them. They're still 7th in the West, two games ahead of the remade Clippers and five above the Jazz for a playoff spot, so this could keep them afloat and keep Davis happy two years ahead of free agency. Coercing Chicago into giving back their 2nd round pick for "having to" commit to that option year being exercised is icing on the cake.
It's ironic that Chicago had to waive Quincy Pondexter for the roster spot to complete this trade since that 2nd round pick was originally acquired for taking him on in a salary dump at the beginning of the year. Now they're paying an expensive price for a middle of the pack 1st round pick, but it's not a bad move for their rebuild. The near $1 million addition in salary for this season is negligible given how far into the season we are and that they're under the salary floor, and then the Asik contract isn't quite as hampering. BasketballInsiders.com lists the last year as a player option that is only guaranteed for $3,000,001, so depending on if they could use him in a future trade as something of an expiring contract, they're looking at eating about $14.3 million in dead money. Who knows, maybe he'll even become a useful player again now that he's back with his original team and even regain some value. Regardless, they clearly didn't value Mirotic as a long term piece, so it's understandable that they are selling at what they think is his highest value. Losing a good player like him will also help them tank (they have a +4.3 net rating in his 622 minutes compared to -9.9 in all others and were 14-11 when he plays compared to 4-22 otherwise) and provide even more minutes for fellow stretch-four Lauri Markkanen during his impressive rookie season. It would be nice if they stop throwing away 2nd rounders during this rebuild, but they have some nice building blocks and financial flexibility.
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