New Orleans Accepted Miller and Two Future Seconds
On July 13, 2012, Minnesota transferred veteran center Brad Miller and two future second-round draft choices to the New Orleans Hornets. The return was a 2017 second-round selection with top-fifty-five protection. The pick never conveyed, which made the long-term compensation small for Minnesota, although moving Miller's remaining obligation still advanced its payroll objective. New Orleans received the rights to what would ultimately be the fifty-second selection in 2013 and the thirty-fifth selection in 2016. Those later slot identifications trace the selections, not immediate contracts with Lorenzo Brown or Rade Zagorac.
Brad Miller Was an Asset for Another Transaction, Not a Hornets Regular
Miller was nearing the end of his NBA career, and New Orleans did not obtain an extended playing contribution from him. Instead, the Hornets used him in a subsequent three-team transaction on July 27 involving the Phoenix Suns and Minnesota. That agreement moved Miller, Jerome Dyson and future pick rights while bringing Robin Lopez, Hakim Warrick and cash to New Orleans. The later deal also required additional consideration beyond what the Hornets acquired in this July 13 swap. Any Lopez games should be credited to the separate three-team agreement rather than presented as Miller's direct playing return.
The Future Picks Followed Different Downstream Paths
The 2013 second-round selection associated with Lorenzo Brown returned to Minnesota as part of the July 27 transaction, while the 2016 choice later associated with Rade Zagorac was directed into the wider three-team arrangement. Neither prospect became an immediate Hornets draft success through the July 13 exchange. That chronology prevents the original deal from receiving inflated grades based on career totals earned elsewhere. The choices were valuable primarily because New Orleans could redeploy them quickly. Minnesota, meanwhile, obtained a conditional 2017 second that did not convey, so the exchange's residual draft return was weaker than the two outgoing pick rights initially appeared.
The Hornets Had More Flexibility, but the Later Deal Had Costs
The original trade favored New Orleans because it assembled an expiring veteran contract and two second-round assets at the cost of a protected selection that ultimately delivered nothing. Minnesota reduced a salary commitment but gave up rights that would have been useful in its own future draft planning. The July 27 trade demonstrated that New Orleans could use the received pieces, though that later package had its own outgoing assets and counterparties. The judgment should neither credit the Hornets with every subsequent player's career nor call the Wolves' salary objective imaginary. A moderate New Orleans advantage best captures the original asset value without overstating the deal.
Final Verdict
Pelicans Win under the modern site label; New Orleans was still the Hornets in July 2012. The Hornets receive B for acquiring Brad Miller's transferable contract and two future second-round choices, subsequently deployed in another deal. Minnesota gets C- for reducing an obligation, while the protected incoming 2017 second never conveyed. The 2013 pick returned to Minnesota in a later transaction, so the eventual draft names aren't automatic New Orleans player production.