The Golden State Warriors acquired guard Raja Bell and forward Vladimir Radmanovic from the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for forward Stephen Jackson and guard Acie Law.

Bell, 33, has appeared in five games for the Bobcats this season (all as a starter), averaging 12.0 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 31.4 minutes. A nine-year NBA veteran, Bell enjoyed one of his most productive NBA seasons last year, averaging 11.9 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 67 games with Phoenix (22) and Charlotte (45). He averaged 15.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 45 outings with the Bobcats last season following an early-season trade from the Suns.

Radmanovic, 28, has appeared in eight games with Charlotte this season, averaging 4.9 points and 3.6 rebounds in 16.6 minutes. An eight-year NBA veteran, Radmanovic averaged a career-best 12.0 points and 5.0 rebounds with Seattle during the 2003-04 campaign.

Jackson, 31, has appeared in nine games with Golden State this season, averaging 16.6 points and 3.9 rebounds. Law, 24, has appeared in five contests, averaging 6.2 points and 1.4 assists.

ESPN’s John Hollinger has an excellent analytical write-up about the trade. Read that here.

Apparently, the Warriors made this trade instead of one involving Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West. That trade would have given the Warriors complete cap relief because both those players have non-guaranteed contracts after this season, so Hollinger thinks it might have made more sense.

UPDATE: Sorry, I guess that story by Hollinger is an ESPN Insider article. I can’t post it here (you’ll have to subscribe to read the full article), but here’s a snippet:

Let’s run through the math. Bell is a productive player — but at a much lower level than Jackson — and is on the final year of his contract, making the primary benefit of the deal for Golden State the fact it clears $9.2 million in cap space in 2011. The Warriors are now a potential player in that year’s free-agent market, depending on future moves. But they could have cleared even more cap space with Cleveland’s offer. Such a deal would have given the Warriors full, immediate relief from Jackson’s deal after the season once they waived West (whose contract isn’t guaranteed for next year) and Szczerbiak (whose contract wouldn’t be guaranteed beyond this year in a sign-and-trade). Such an arrangement would also have given the Warriors two major assets in the “confederate money” of non-guaranteed contracts. They had the alternative of pursuing a big fish in a trade with those deals at the trade deadline, especially since acquiring West and Szczerbiak at this early juncture meant both players would have been eligible for inclusion in package deals by February.

I’ll post my thoughts on this trade later. My wife had Lasik surgery today, so I’ve been tending to that and the children. Time is a little short, but this trade is really interesting and I will find some time to break it down a little later.

What do you all think of the trade? Like it? Hate it? Smiling a little bit that Jackson was traded to a team that has no chance at a championship and is a stretch to even have a winning season this year? Post your thoughts here.