Bucks trade 1st-round pick, Snell to Pistons in salary cap dump

DETROIT — The Milwaukee Bucks appear to have agreed to a trade that will send Tony Snell and their 30th pick in tonight’s draft to the Detroit Pistons for Jon Leuer.

The move clears up about $2 million in cap space for the Bucks. Snell will make $11.4 million this season and has a $12.1 million player option for next, while Leuer, a former Wisconsin Badgers forward, heads into the last season of his contract making $9.5 million.

Trades can’t be completed until the new league year starts on July 6.

This is the second time in the past six months the Bucks of traded first-round picks to dump terrible contracts. Last season, they traded a first- and second-round pick, to dump Matthew Dellavedova and John Henson on the Cleveland Cavs. It ended up being a useful trade, in the short term, for Milwaukee, however, as it brought back George Hill, who may have been the team’s second-best player in the playoffs.

Dellavedova is set to make $9.6 million in the final year of the 4-year, $38-million contract Milwaukee signed him to three seasons ago. Henson is also in the last year of his 4-year, $48-million contract.

The same time Milwaukee signed Dellavedova, they also signed Snell to a 4-year, $46-million deal and Mirza Teletovic to a 3-year, $30-million deal.

This was the season when the salary cap jumped tremendously. While Milwaukee studs like Henson, Dellavedova and Teletovic, other teams signed players like Kevin Durant.

Back to Leuer, the 30-year-old, who was drafted by the Bucks with the 40th pick back in 2011, played just 41 games and averaged 9.8 minutes and 3.8 points last season.

The 27-year-old Snell averaged 6.0 points last season and appeared in nine playoff games.

TOP PHOTO: Dallas Mavericks’ Luka Doncic (77) shoots between Milwaukee Bucks’ Eric Bledsoe (6) and Tony Snell during the first half of an NBA basketball game Monday, Jan. 21, 2019, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Aaron Gash)