According to Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarawoski the Golden State Warriors and Milwaukee Bucks have agreed in principal to a deal that would send guard Monta Ellis, Kwame Brown and Ekpe Udoh to the Bucks for Andrew Bogut and former Warriors Stephen Jackson.
This trade will certainly leave a sour taste in many a Warriors fan's mouth as Ellis, averaging 21.9 points and 6 assists a contest and Udoh, who's been making great strides offensively as of late (9.8 points and 4.9 rebounds in his last ten games) were certainly fan favorites. This now puts the team in line to put more pressure on Stephen Curry as their face-of-the-franchise guard, even though he'll be hobbled likely for a while longer with his recurring foot/ankle injury.
As for what the Warriors get in return, Stephen Jackson will get to return to a fan base that loved him for his part of the 2007 'we beleive' team, but has been more known for his prowess for technical fouls than anything else, amongst his decent numbers. As for Bogut, here's what they get from him:
To be clear, Bogut out for the season so this is a white flag.He makes $12M this season, then 13M and 14M the next 2 #warriors #gswarriors
— Scott Reiss (@ScottReissCSN) March 14, 2012
It appears to me with this trade that the Warriors are not looking to make a push this season, or feel that the addition of Jackson and the improvement of Klay Thompson are enough to try and make a push this season. When Bogut returns next they'll certainly have a more formidable front court, but for now they'll have even less big man depth with Udoh out of the picture.
In the long term the Warriors should have about $15 million coming off the books after this season with the deal, and could likely ensure a top 7 pick in the lottery if they keep losing, but they'll of course have to keep losing. Without Ellis, Bogut, Udoh and a very limited Curry, that could very well be the case.
Per Marcus Thompson on Twitter:
Said one Warriors player: "So we're just giving up on the season?"
— Marcus Thompson (@gswscribe) March 14, 2012
Too early to call, but it isn't looking good.
To further discuss this trade, make your way over to Golden State of Mind.