Pistons acquire Tony Snell, No. 30 pick from Bucks

The hours preceding Thursday’s NBA Draft got a little more interesting for the Pistons.

The Pistons on Wednesday night traded big man Jon Leuer to the Milwaukee Bucks for forward Tony Snell and the 30th pick in the draft, a league source confirmed to The Detroit News.

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski was first to report the news of the trade.

The move adds a needed wing to their playing rotation and provides some flexibility in the draft, where the Pistons now will have the 15th, 30th and 45th picks.

Snell is set to make $11.4 million next season and has a player option for $12.2 million for 2020-21, the final years of a four-year deal worth $46 million that he signed in the summer of 2017.

Snell, 27, is 6-foot-7, 215 pounds and has played six seasons in the NBA — three each with the Bulls and Bucks. In 74 games this season, he averaged 6 points, 2.1 rebounds and shot 40 percent on 3-pointers, taking about three per game.

His arrival fills the need for veteran wing help, as the Pistons dealt both Reggie Bullock and Stanley Johnson at the trade deadline and finished the season with a three-guard rotation.

Snell started 80 games in 2016-17 for the Bucks, 59 the following season and played a reserve role this season for the Bucks, who had the best record in the NBA. He was the 20th overall pick in the 2013 draft after playing three seasons at New Mexico.

The trade benefits the Pistons in that they gave up Leuer, who played in just 41 games this season but posted 3.8 points and 2.4 rebounds. Leuer, 30, finished his third season with the Pistons, after signing a four-year deal for $41 million in 2016.

Leuer suffered a foot injury in 2017-18 that limited him to just eight games and he hasn’t been the same since. His expiring contract was viewed as an asset, which the Pistons decided to cash in Wednesday, to get the Bucks’ first-round pick and a rotational piece in Snell.

By taking on Leuer’s expiring contract with just $9.5 next season instead of Snell’s, the Bucks save about $4 million next season, which will help them try to retain center Brook Lopez and keep their core, including restricted free agent Malcolm Brogdon, intact for another playoff run.

The Bucks drafted Leuer, who had a successful college career at Wisconsin, 40th overall in 2011 and he played his rookie season in Milwaukee before being dealt to the Cavaliers the following year.

Rod.Beard@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @detnewsRodBeard