The winners and losers of the Monta Ellis/Andrew Bogut trade
The news is late, but the first domino of the NBA trade deadline fell late on Wednesday, and in surprising fashion. The Golden State Warriors sent Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown in a package to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for the former number one pick Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson. Does that any sense or doesn’t it? Me neither.
Let’s look at the winners and losers of this deal. Why in the world would the Warriors deal away Ellis? The seven-year veteran who is currently averaging 24.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 5.6 assists and is shooting well from the field at .451. The backcourt alongside Stephen Curry was one of the most dangerous offenses, either guy could go crazy at anytime. The Warriors do nothing to help their starting front line other than adding another big man in Bogut who has been injury prone the past few seasons with elbow, hand and knee injuries that have kept him off the court. Bogut is currently averaging 12.8 points, 11 rebounds and could need a new change of scenery, so this deal might help him in the long run.
Jackson comes back to the Warriors after playing for them during 2007-09 and helping them take down the first seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round and will be brought back to a fan base that liked him. He obviously didn’t fit in well with Scott Skiles and looked awkward when on the court. Don’t be surprised if Jackson bolts during the summer or the Warriors might have to let him go based on the extent of his contract.
The Warriors with this trade won’t get the same offense that Ellis supplied, while the combination of David Lee with Bogut seems nice on paper, I don’t see anything improving as it looks as Curry might be told to take more control of the scoring now that his partner is a Buck.
The Milwaukee Bucks need to head to the casino as soon as they can and cash in cause they are the biggest winners. Forfeiting Bogut and Jackson for Ellis? What a steal, not only can they now complement point guard Brandon Jennings in scoring, but the Bucks get small forward Udoh who has been playing very good as of late, and a replacement in big man Brown who does what he needs to do, stand in the paint and defend shots. Although he too is sidelined with an ankle injury, it will be the decision of Milwaukee to keep him long-term which doesn’t seem likely.
As Milwaukee sits alongside the New York Knicks for the eighth and final playoff spot, Ellis might be the key to push the Bucks over the hump and land themselves in the postseason once again, but this is only the beginning of the always exciting trade deadline which is fast approaching.
photo courtesy of warriorsworld.net
Nicholas Filipas