Monta Ellis: Trade scenarios involving the Golden State Warriors guard – NBA Feature (Part -1)
Golden State Warriors’ guard Monta Ellis has spent six years in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and judging by his performances for the Warriors last season, it is safe to say that the shooting guard has still got a lot to offer.
Ellis is athleticism personified and his ability to take over the game in the crucial moments made him one of the most credible offensive threats over the course of the last two years. He is as good as they come on the offense and as a testament of that ability, he finished last season as one of top five scorers in the league.
However, Ellis has had a love-hate relationship with the franchise. In 2008, he reportedly lied about the cause of his ankle injury and the Warriors subsequently banned him for 30 games. He however came back with a bang in the next season and put up his highest season scoring numbers (25.5) till date. In the last season as well, he was Warriors’ main offensive weapon.
However, Ellis does posses a lot a loopholes in his defensive game and his inability to raise the bar on that front, cost Warriors dearly at times last season.
Although, in 2008 he had signed a six year extension deal with the Warriors, but after last season’s performance, the Warriors management is reportedly not very happy and is planning to trade him. Stephen Curry recently validated these rumours when he said that there were some differences between the Warriors front office and Ellis. However, he did go on to state that whatever issues there were, have been sorted and as of now Ellis is staying put.
However, in NBA you never know and with Ellis being such a valuable asset, there are many teams who will be more than willing to get their hand on the shooting guard. For Ellis as well, the prospect of building a team and a wait for the NBA championship does not sound too good.
Ellis, even with his defensive weaknesses, can give many teams a boost in winning the Larry’ O Brien Trophy, especially the teams who already have a strong defensive core.
A look into the rosters of the championship contenders in the league will reveal that there are many such teams in both the conferences. In this feature, we will discuss the potential trade scenarios involving Ellis and those teams, and the affect that the Warriors guard aka the ‘Mississippi Bullet’ will have, if the trade indeed materializes.
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