Milwaukee Bucks Best the Golden State Warriors in Monta Ellis-Andrew Bogut Trade

The Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors just pulled off a blockbuster trade, sending Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson to the Warriors for Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh, and Kwame Brown. Clearly, the Bucks are the winners in this trade.

Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson both needed to be shipped out of Milwaukee. Stephen Jackson had become a problem in the Bucks' locker room, frequently clashing with coach Scott Skiles. Bogut is a solid defender when he is healthy. Unfortunately, he has been unable to stay on the court, suffering injuries to his elbow, wrist, and both ankles. This inability to stay healthy, coupled with his large salary, made it a necessity that he be moved.

In return for Bogut and Jackson, the Bucks received Ellis, Udoh, and Brown's expiring contract. Monta Ellis is clearly the headliner of this group. A young, explosive guard, Ellis will provide a nice spark to the Milwaukee offense and should be helpful to the team on a run to the playoffs. While Udoh doesn't provide much on the offensive end of the floor, his defense abilities will mesh well with Skiles' system. At only 24, Udoh joins a young, talented Milwaukee front line with Ersan Illyasova and Larry Sanders. While Kwame Brown is an afterthought in this trade considering he is in the twilight of his career, his true value is in his expiring contract, which provides the Milwaukee Bucks with more cap space entering this offseason.

By turning Bogut and Jackson into Ellis, Udoh, and Kwame Brown's expiring contract, the Milwaukee Bucks were able to drastically improve the outlook for the current season as well as the future of the franchise.