Five-player trade sees Warriors land Bogut and Ellis arrive in Milwaukee

The Golden State Warriors and the Milwaukee Bucks completed a five-player deal on Tuesday night that sent Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson to the Warriors in exchange for Ekpe Udoh, Kwame Brown and Monta Ellis.

In a deal that is expected to kick start a trading frenzy, Golden State has added the strength and scoring inside that the team has been severely lacking in previous seasons. The number one overall pick in the 2005 draft, Bogut has struggled with injuries over the course of his career and is currently side-lined with a fractured left ankle that occurred on Jan. 25 against the Houston Rockets.

When he is finally able to pull on a Warriors vest the link-up between the exciting guard Stephan Curry and Bogut is sure to be a formidable one. In 408 career games he has averaged 12.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.6 blocked shots per game.

“We’re extremely excited to acquire a player the calibre of Andrew Bogut, who we think is certainly one of the top centres in the NBA,” Warriors GM Larry Riley said. “He will add an element of toughness to our team and will provide us with scoring, rebounding and a defensive presence in the middle. We’ve lacked those elements in recent years and think that Andrew’s addition will be a key factor in the growth of our team.”

The other player heading to California is twelve-year NBA veteran, Stephen Jackson. Reports surfaced in late January that Jackson had fallen out of favour with head coach Scott Skiles and the result has seen him not play a game since Feb. 19.

“Captain Jack” will be re-joining the team he left in 2009 and although problems concerning his attitude have been an issue throughout his career, Jackson is sure to bring some much needed intensity to the Golden State front court.

The other side of the deal sees the high-scoring Monta Ellis link up with another of the leagues dynamic young point-guards, Brandon Jennings, allowing the impressive 6-foot-7 rookie Klay Thompson the chance to show what he can do in the Warriors starting five.

While some of the trade rumours in recent weeks have involved Jennings, the addition of Ellis to Milwaukee’s back court makes a deal unlikely before Thursday’s March 15 trade deadline unless someone by the name of Dwight Howard was to reconsider his preferred destinations.

Averaging 19.6 points, 4.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game throughout his career, Ellis signed a six-year, $66 million contract back in 2008 and had recently stated his desire to stay with the Warriors long term. After being reminded of those comments, his response was blunt.

“Well, everybody says that,” said Ellis. “But sometimes it (doesn’t) always work out like that.”

Along with Ellis the Bucks have added the athletic power forward Ekpe Udoh and the former number one overall draft pick Kwame Brown to their already talented inside tandem of Drew Gooden and Ersan Ilyasova in a move that should see them become decent contenders in the East.

While the deal has seen Ellis and Bogut move on from their long-time homes, they won’t be separated for too long as the Warriors host the Bucks on Friday night in what is sure to be an interesting battle between old allies.