Milwaukee Bucks: Regrading the questionable Nikola Mirotic trade
The final (updated) grade for the Nikola Mirotic trade for the Milwaukee Bucks
It really wasn’t the best time for Mirotic in his brief time with the Bucks. Between his poor performance in the Eastern Conference Finals and the injury before the playoffs, things didn’t go as well as I’m sure the team and Mirotic would have hoped.
At the time, it looked like a great move by the Bucks to add a veteran shooter that was also a big body and could space the floor for Giannis Antetokounmpo. He obviously can’t be blamed for all of the Bucks’ problems in that Raptors series, but even if he shoots at his career rate from three, the series might have been a little different with how open he was shooting.
Luckily for the Bucks, it didn’t come back to haunt them in any more ways than just the on-court struggles as the assets traded away are either not in the league anymore or are low-end role players. It was a low-risk move that had the chance to pay off in a big way, but as we all know, it did not.
He went on to win the Spanish League MVP the following season with Barcelona, where Mirotic scored 20 points per game. He followed it up by winning Finals MVP this past season as he helped Barcelona win their 16th ACB title and 19th Spanish title. Although it didn’t work out for Mirotic in Milwaukee, it’s nice to see him having success overseas.
BTBP (Updated) Final Grade: C
Next. Milwaukee Bucks: This was their most underrated move of 2021 offseason. dark
Thankfully Bucks fans can look back on this move and not feel as bad, knowing they’d win a championship two years later.