Warriors-Bucks Trade Analysis

The bare bones:

The Golden State Warriors get:

·      Andrew Bogut (3 yrs, 39.5 Mil)

·      Stephen Jackson (2 yrs, 19.3 Mil)

The Milwaukee Bucks receive:

·      Monta Ellis (3 yrs, 33 Mil)

·      Ekpe Udoh (3 yrs, 11.2 Mil)

·      Kwame Brown (1 yrs, 7 Mil)

This is the first blockbuster trade that we have seen in the NBA this season, and although it is between two teams that could miss the playoffs, it has implications that could be felt all over the NBA.

In the short term, you could argue that both teams got what they wanted. Golden State has no one that can impose themselves in the painted area on offense. Although Bogut hasn’t been the same since he broke his elbow and wrist 2 years ago, he is still a player capable of posting up and scoring the basketball. He is also a defensive presence who teammates really seem to enjoy.

On the flipside, the Bucks are in constant need of consistent scoring. In the last couple of weeks, Brandon Jennings and Ersan Ilyasova have been carrying this team. Acquiring Monta Ellis will take pressure off of Jennings especially and allow him to be more of a creator. However, this could go very badly if both Jennings and Ellis take 20+ shots per game. That sounds like a recipe for disaster. Optimistically, Scott Skiles helps Ellis realize that defense is also a part of the game, and the Bucks institute a motion/flowing offense that allows many players to get open shots through the course of a game.

For the future, I feel sorry that the Warriors have to put up with Stephen Jackson again. Captain Jack has shown himself to be a coach killer and a locker room cancer. The quicker that his is off of an NBA roster, the better. Since Bogut and Ellis both have 2 years after this season left on their contracts, that will allow their new respective teams to attempt to build around them and form a winning basketball team.

Overall, I think the Warriors won this trade. They still retained their most valuable asset in Steph Curry, the have some talent on the perimeter with Klay Thompson, and David Lee should be a good partner for Bogut. The Bucks get the king of the +/- in Ekpe Udoh, but they already have Larry Sanders to fill the role of a shot blocker who is inept on offense. This round goes to the Warriors.