Bucks Trade Andrew Bogut, Stephen Jackson To Warriors For Monta Ellis

Finally, the NBA trade deadline action is underway -- the Golden State Warriors have agreed in principle to trade Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh and Kwame Brown to the Milwaukee Bucks for Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. The deal will be officially completed late tonight.

In itself, this deal is a big one, as Ellis ranks ninth in the NBA with 21.9 points per game, which should give the Bucks an immediate jolt in their push for an Eastern Conference playoff spot. But there are further repercussions as well -- Ellis' move may derail the Orlando Magic's chances of keeping Dwight Howard.

Ellis was on Howard's "wish list" of players Orlando could acquire in order to convince Howard to stay in free agency this summer; with the high-scoring guard now off the market, the Magic just scramble for a Plan B.

As for Bogut, the Bucks are losing one of the best centers in the game when healthy -- the Aussie averaged 12.8 points, 11.1 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game last season -- but ankle and elbow injuries have limited the big man in recent years.