Nikola Mirotic will not be returning to the New Orleans Pelicans. He won’t be returning to the NBA, either. At least not any time soon.
The 6-foot-10 sharpshooter agreed to a deal that will send him to the Euroleague, where he’ll play for FC Barcelona Lassa, according to a report from Shams Charania of the Athletic.
Mirotic, 28, played portions of the past two seasons with the Pelicans. He was acquired in a midseason trade with the Chicago Bulls during the 2017-’18 season, helping to lead New Orleans to a first-round playoff sweep of the Portland Trail Blazers despite the loss of star DeMarcus Cousins to an Achilles tear earlier in the year.
He left New Orleans in a similar fashion this past season, heading to the Milwaukee Bucks where he helped the team charge to the Eastern Conference Finals. Milwaukee lost in six games to the eventual champion Toronto Raptors. Mirotic has not spoken publicly, nor indicated whether he plans to return to the NBA.
It’s unclear what Mirotic’s contract will be valued at with Barcelona, but he was “in the market” for a an NBA deal worth up to $50 million, according to the report.
The timing of the decision is unusual, in that it was reported just more than a day before NBA free agency was set to begin. Mirotic would’ve likely garnered strong interest from several teams, as a career 35.9 percent 3-point shooter.
One of those teams could’ve certainly been the Pelicans, who boast more than $30 million in available cap space and have a need for wing shooters. The sharpshooting skillset led the Pelicans to give up a first-round pick, center Omer Asik, and guards Jameer Nelson and Tony Allen in their trade with the Bulls.
Mirotic averaged 16.8 points over the final 30 games of the regular season, as well as 15 per game over nine playoff appearances.
Likely his greatest performance in a Pelicans jersey was Game 3 of the series against the Blazers when he scored 30 points on 12-of-15 shooting.
The Utah Jazz were a team heavily interested in signing Mirotic this season, according to a report from Marc Stein of the New York Times, but he was “determined to make a total change.”
But the Euroleague is far from uncharted territory for the native of Montenegro. He got his career started there in 2008, playing six years for Real Madrid. He was drafted No. 23 overall in the 2011 NBA draft. He would head to the NBA in 2014, where he played his first four NBA seasons with the Bulls.
Barcelona features a few other recognizable names, including former NBA players Kevin Seraphin and Chris Singleton.
With such drastic changes this offseason, the Pelicans have not only been transformed into a younger, more attractive roster to potential free…
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