NBA Trade Deadline: How Monta Ellis Trade Affects Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks just completed a blockbuster trade, acquiring guard Monta Ellis, forward Ekpe Udoh, and center Kwame Brown in exchange for center Andrew Bogut and forward Stephen Jackson.

Ellis is a top-10 scorer in the NBA and will make the Bucks offense much more explosive.  His addition gives the Bucks one of the best 1-2 guard combos in the league as both he and point guard Brandon Jennings (averaging 19.1 ppg this season) have the ability to light up the scoreboard.  

Ellis will relieve some of the scoring pressure off of Jennings, which could improve Jennings' overall offensive game as he will not always have to carry the offense by himself.  He is averaging 21.9 ppg this season.  

The Bucks offense has shown some life recently with solid contributions from Ersan Ilyasova, Carlos Delfino and Drew Gooden, and Ellis will only make that offense better.  While it may take some time for Jennings and Ellis to develop good chemistry with each other, the combination could end up producing an explosive offense for the Bucks.  

Udoh has had a solid season thus far for the Warriors.  He provides energy, defense and rebounding off the bench and can be a solid offensive player at times also.  He provides the Bucks with an energizer off the bench who is extremely active on the boards and on defense.  

His offensive skills remain raw but they will improve with time and work as he is only in his second season in the NBA.  He is a talented and promising young big man whom Scott Skiles will love working with and he will get a chance to show what he can do in Milwaukee.  

Kwame Brown is currently out with an injury and it remains to be seen if he will be playing again this season.  

When healthy, he is mostly a big body in the paint who can occasionally score in the low post while being a solid defender and rebounder.  He will provide the Bucks will salary cap relief at the end of this season as he is on an expiring contract.

Overall, this trade makes tons of sense for the Bucks.  They fill their need for a strong offensive weapon with Ellis, get a promising, hard-working player in Udoh and an expiring contract in Brown.  They also rid themselves of Stephen Jackson who had fallen out of favor with Skiles.  This trade has the potential to push the Bucks over the hump and into the playoffs this season.