The Milwaukee Bucks acquired Monta Ellis from the Golden State Warriors in a five-player swap between the teams on Tuesday as the NBA's impending trade deadline loomed into sharp focus.
The Bucks sent former number one pick Andrew Bogut along with Stephen Jackson to the Warriors in order to receive Ellis, forward Ekpe Udoh and center Kwame Brown.
The trading deadline ends on Thursday and Milwaukee picked up the high-scoring Ellis in hopes of making a playoff push in the Eastern Conference.
The Bucks (18-24) are tied with the New York Knicks for the eighth best record in the conference, and will now add Ellis' 21.9 points per game to their backcourt.
Bogut, the top pick of the 2005 draft, has had injury concerns and broke his left ankle in January and may not play again this season but has been productive when healthy, averaging 12.7 points and 9.3 rebounds for his career.
While the move might initially be a setback for the Warriors (18-21) who are three games out of a playoff spot in the West, first-year coach Mark Jackson said he still expected his team to be competitive.
"It doesn't make a difference who is there, the mission (of trying to make the playoffs) remains the same," Jackson told NBA.com. "We had three guys that we are attached to, and it hurts. This is a business, but it hurts."
