Bye bye Monta...

That March 24 Warriors game either got a lot more interesting, or a lot more dull.

In case you have been living under a rock, the Warriors made a huge trade yesterday, sending Monta Ellis to the Milwaukee Bucks for Andrew Bogut.

And to make the trade more mind boggling or interesting, Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown go with Monta, and guess who comes back to the Warriors? Captain Jack, Stephen Jackson.

Kwame Brown was included just for salary reasons so the contracts could match up. 

So before anybody, including myself jumps to conclusions, here's the good, the bad, and ugly from the trade.

The Good
No longer will anyone ask can Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis co-exist? I guess the answer is no because Monta is now gone. There isn't that distraction, which is always a good thing.

Curry and Ellis was never going to work because they were both too small. Good teams who have a good shooting guard always beat the Warriors. Kobe is 6'6, a shooting guard, and it caused complete defensive chaos every time the W's had to play a team with a guard who could consistently score.

Now the Warriors can form a traditional lineup where the shooting guard is taller than 6'3, which is Monta's height.

Also the good, the Warriors were not going to win anything with Monta either, so why not start somewhat fresh?

Monta is a really good player, not a great player. Yes, he could score, but he didn't make his team better and is not a player that can carry a team. And that is no knock on Monta, because how many Lebrons, Kobes, and Derrick Rose's are there?

Monta would be a great secondary player to a superstar. But a superstar is something Monta isn't.

The Bad
We also lose Ekpe Udoh. Udoh was one of the few bright spots for the Warriors this season. He's young, could play defense, blocked shots. He was something the Warriors have not had in years, and once again, they don't have it. But it sounds like to make this trade happen, Udoh had to be part of it.

The Ugly
Stephen Jackson. There's no way he wants to come back. I think he'll get booed out of the arena if he ever gets into a game. He was thrown into the trade because the Bucks would not make the trade if Jackson wasn't part of the deal.

Why didn't they trade Biedrins instead?
I wouldn't want Andris Biedrins playing on our 3rd grade team cause he's too soft inside, so I doubt an NBA team would want him.


Why this trade makes sense
This was probably the best deal out there.

Andrew Bogut, when healthy, is a top/good center in the NBA. Centers are not easy to come by. The Warriors have never had a good center since I have been alive. In order to get a center through a trade, you have to give up someone like Monta.

Building around Monta also just wasn't happening. They tried in the off-season to get Tyson Chandler, DeAndre Jordan, but the Warriors struck out on both of those. Free agents don't want to come play for the Warriors so the only way they can get players are through the draft or trade.

Monta could've opted out of his contract at the end of next year, and the Warriors would've gotten nothing for him. Monta was also slowly getting restless and who could blame him, so sooner or later, Who knows? Monta maybe demands a trade and becomes a major distraction. The trade alleviates the problem.

The Warriors need to start losing games. If they do not get a draft pick in the Top 7, they lose the draft pick. With Monta, they probably miss the playoffs by a few games and therefore draft between 10-15 again, and that draft pick is lost because of a prior trade.

Since Bogut is injured and unlikely to play, this Warriors team is going to have trouble winning games down the stretch. And that means a nucleus of Curry, draft pick, Wright, Lee and Bogut. Not quite championship material, but a solid team.

Finally, the franchise believes in Klay Thompson. His play made Monta expendable.

Why this trade doesn't make sense
Bogut is injured and you can't say for sure he is going to be healthy or be dependable in the future.

Udoh had the potential to be an impact player. Probably not an All-Star, but someone who in only his second year was raising eyebrows around the league.

This also means the face of the franchise is now Stephen Curry, who could roll an ankle getting out of his car.

Monta was a go to scorer the Warriors hadn't had in a while also. With the game on the line, Monta was going to shoot the ball - most of the times, since there were games he just didn't shoot it for some reason.

But that's besides the point. Monta had no fear in taking the big shot. Right now, the team doesn't have anybody who can do that.

There aren't many players in the league who can score at will like Monta.

The Verdict
My early return says that this trade isn't great, and to me it's not even good.

I won't say it's bad either.

I do feel that this was a trade made because of all the other flaws and mistakes the team has made over the course of years. And this was perhaps the first step for them to get out of it.

If Bogut is healthy, this is a good trade. If they get the pick, and Bogut is healthy, this could be a great trade.

But everything is if, if and if.

What do you think? Be sure to vote, and enjoy Charlie Jenkins on the 24th.