Fansided

NBA Free Agency 2019: 20 best players available

By Brendon Kleen

Mandatory Credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Mandatory Credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images /
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MILWAUKEE – MAY 8: Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving (11) defends Milwaukee Bucks forward Nikola Mirotic (41) during the first quarter. The Milwaukee Bucks host the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference NBA Semi-Finals at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on May 8, 2019. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE – MAY 8: Boston Celtics guard Kyrie Irving (11) defends Milwaukee Bucks forward Nikola Mirotic (41) during the first quarter. The Milwaukee Bucks host the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference NBA Semi-Finals at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on May 8, 2019. (Photo by Barry Chin/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /

16. Nikola Mirotic, F, Milwaukee Bucks, Unrestricted

Consider Mirotic’s path in the NBA, one of the most bizarre in the league.

He didn’t come over to the United States until he was 23, at which point his legend had grown from performances in Spain to astronomical proportions. Case in point: Mirotic was one of the sticking points in a deal that could have sent Carmelo Anthony to the Bulls once upon a time. Instead, he stuck around in Chicago for a few years, spaced the floor for a couple playoff teams, and then got traded to New Orleans during the best season of Anthony Davis’ career.

There, he helped the Pelicans develop an up-tempo, wild identity that finally befits coach Alvin Gentry and maximize Davis’ and Jrue Holiday’s two-way potential. That team swept the Trail Blazers and put the Damian Lillard/CJ McCollum era on the ropes before this year’s breakthrough by Portland.

Mirotic began 2018-19 with New Orleans, hoping to keep up the momentum of the 2018 playoffs. We all know how that went. Anthony Davis couldn’t take it anymore, requested a trade, and set off a series of events that resulted in the Pelicans firing their general manager, winning the draft lottery, and sort of bamboozling the Lakers in the Davis deal.

Mirotic ended up in Milwaukee, where he was a starter for most of the Bucks’ run to the conference finals before being benched the final game and a half against Toronto. Just your average, quiet five NBA seasons.

Regardless of the craziness, however, Mirotic is still one of the most coveted player types in the whole league, a stretch forward who can move on defense and rebound.

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