Obscure guard has been the star of NBA transaction season

The Milwaukee Bucks traded Pat Connaughton to the Charlotte Hornets, along with three second-round picks, to acquire Micic, a 31-year-old guard who averaged 6.6 points last season. That deal happened days after the Phoenix Suns sent Micic to the Hornets on draft night along with the No. 29 pick (Liam McNeeley of UConn) for center Mark Williams.

That was great news for Micic, who was rumored to be returning to the EuroLeague with Olympiacos, one of the best teams in Greece. Micic was the 2021 EuroLeague MVP, but he didn't flourish in the NBA after signing with the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2023 and their crowded backcourt.

But to include Micic as matching salary in their trade for Williams, the Suns had to guarantee Micic's $8.1M team option for next season. That was almost certainly not going to be picked up if the point guard was heading to Europe, but now Micic has a large chunk of change.

He might even get the playing time he's been looking for with the Bucks, who waived the injured Damian Lillard Tuesday. He'd be among Kevin Porter Jr. and Ryan Rollins in the Bucks' point guard rotation with a real chance to carve out a niche. Or, he gets a lucrative buyout and heads to Greece. Win-win.

It's not even the first time the Hornets have traded Micic in 2025. In February, Micic headed to the Suns when Phoenix gave Charlotte a first-round pick to take Jusuf Nurkic's salary off their hands.

The Hornets obtained first-round picks in trades where they sent Micic away and one in which they acquired him. Now they've picked up three seconds sending him away again. Not bad for a guy with 691 career points.

Not only has Micic been traded four times in his brief NBA career and three times in 2025 (he was part of the Thunder's trade for Gordon Hayward in 2024 where the Hornets for two second-rounders), he was traded three times before he ever arrived in the NBA. Twice Micic was dealt as a future draft pick, and the Philadelphia 76ers sent his rights to the Thunder in a deal that sent Al Horford to OKC three years before he reached the NBA.

Micic's agent deserves a lot of credit for negotiating his team option for next season, which has proved very useful in balancing salaries in trades. So useful that this may not be Micic's last appearance in an NBA transaction this summer, should the Bucks make another move.

It might be frustrating to get passed around the league like this. $8.1M probably lessens that frustration quite a bit.