Thu, Feb 1, 2018 at 3:54pm

BULLS MOVE MIROTIC TO THE PELICANS

The New Orleans Pelicans acquired forward Nikola Mirotic and a second-round draft pick in 2018 from the Chicago Bulls for center Omer Asik, guard Jameer Nelson, forward/guard Tony Allen, a first-round draft pick in 2018 (top-five protected) and the right to switch second-round draft picks in 2021.

What does it give the New Orleans Pelicans
Mirotic can be the scoring sixth man the playoff-hopeful Pelicans need, and he can even start at either forward spot if required. The recent loss of superstar center DeMarcus Cousins to a season-ending injury hurts New Orleans' postseason chances, but Mirotic can at least somewhat help shore things up. Moreover, this move helps free up some salary cap space to sign another player, and it also helps the Pels find a taker for center Asik (who did not pan out with New Orleans).

What does it give the Chicago Bulls
The Bulls are in the midst of rebuilding with youth, so the first-round draft pick will help hugely with that goal. While Mirotic is himself a talented young player, his well-publicized fist fight with teammate Bobby Portis made trading one of them seemingly inevitable. Asik can be a solid backup for starting center Robin Lopez, but it appears aging veterans Allen and Nelson are throw-ins here to make the salaries match (an NBA trade requirement).

Fantasy impact
Mirotic's fantasy value should stay roughly the same with New Orleans as it was with Chicago, because his role is likely to be identical (that is, as the top scorer on the second unit or as an occasional starter). His arrival hurts the fantasy fortunes of combo forward Darius Miller, who looked ready for a bigger role after Cousins was injured. For Chicago, expect Portis and swingman Denzel Valentine to see more shots as a result of Mirotic's departure (with both Bulls players worth a look in most standard single-season fantasy formats).