Times are a changin’ in the Hoosier State. After dealing franchise player Paul George to the Oklahoma City Thunder last weekend, the Pacers continue to move in a different direction as they waived guard Monta Ellis, according to new Scoops-God Shams Charania of The Vertical, on Wednesday afternoon. The 12-year veteran just finished the second year of a four-year/$44 million contract he signed with Indiana back in the summer of 2015 after finishing two seasons with the Mavericks. Dallas is still waiting to push down the first domino of their offseason with signing Nerlens Noel, but could an Ellis to Dallas be a following move for the Mavericks?
The Good (Memories)
Monta Ellis averaged about 19 points per game over two seasons in a Mavericks uniform. His first season saw him instantly mesh with Dirk Nowitzki as in the 2013-2014 season opener against the Atlanta Hawks, Ellis had 32 points and 8 assists and Dirk scored 24 points of his own, with plenty of those coming of excellent passes from Ellis in the pick and roll.
This was something that was going on all season as Ellis averaged close to 6 assists per game and Nowitzki scored 21.7 points per game in what was one of the more enjoyable seasons since Dallas won the title in 2011. Ellis and Nowitzki led the Mavericks to a 49-33 record and the duo even helped push the eventual champion San Antonio Spurs to a game seven in a thrilling first round playoff series. No Mavs fan can bring up that playoff series without at least mentioning Vince Carter’s insane, buzzer-beating three in game three.
Things got a bit crowded the next season as the Mavericks added ballhandlers like Chandler Parsons and Rajon Rondo. Suddenly, the ball was in the hands of Ellis less often. He went from 5.7 assists in his first season in Dallas down to 4.1 the next. Despite the fun parody rap videos with them both in it, there were alleged chemistry problems between Monta and Parsons. On the flip side, Rondo and Ellis apparently got along really well off the court, but never played well together on the court. The Mavs were never able to completely fit all the puzzle pieces together that season before fizzling out in a short five game series loss to the Houston Rockets in the first round. Ellis had a player option on the third year of his contract and he knew he’d get paid if he opted out and tested free agency. The Monta Ellis experience was over after just two seasons.
The Bad (Cold Hard Facts)
Monta Ellis was never comfortable during his two years with the Indiana Pacers. He struggled to find his place in the offense and never had the on court chemistry with Paul George that he did with Dirk Nowitzki.
His scoring average was a mere 8.8 points per game this season; the lowest since his rookie season. Of the 74 games he appeared in last season, 41 of them were off the bench. The only other season where he didn’t start every game played was his rookie season back in the 2005-2006 season where he only started 3 of the 49 games he played. The shift to being a reserve didn’t exactly rejuvenate Ellis, either. His points per game averages were the same at 8.5 per game in the starting lineup and off the bench. Despite his minutes going from 30.4 as a starter down to 24 minutes per game off the bench, Ellis’ shot attempts were virtually the same at around 7.5 per game. This is considerably lower than his time with the Mavericks where he averaged 16 and 17 shots per game in two seasons.
Is There a Fit?
The field goal attempts for Ellis seem to suggest that he was okay taking on a lesser role in an offense. It’s likely though that he simply needs more more shots to have numbers that get anyone excited. In his career high scoring season in 2009-2010 as a Warrior, Steph Curry’s rookie season in Golden State, Ellis scored 25.5 points per game on a crazy 22 attempts a night. In comparison, Dirk Nowitzki’s career high in field goal attempts per game is just 20 back in 2008-2009. In his MVP 2006-2007 season, the Big German just shot 17 times a game at an efficient 50% from the field.
Efficiency has never been a strength for Monta Ellis and it’s that reason alone that this writer doesn’t think the Mavericks will attempt to bring him back. If he could just be counted on for playing about 25 minutes per game and shooting somewhere between 35-40% from beyond the arc, the Mavericks would likely look really closely at Ellis. However, he has never been a good three point shooter and it especially showed when he shot just 28% from 3 in his final season in Dallas two years ago.
The crowded backcourt for Dallas is probably the main reason the front office won’t consider this move. The fortune of having a seemingly ready-to-start point guard in Dennis Smith, Jr. fall to them at number nine in the draft really took away any need for Dallas to emphasize their backcourt in trade or free agency. With J.J. Barea and Yogi Ferrell under contract at point guard plus Wes Matthews, Devin Harris and budding start Seth Curry getting minutes at shooting guard, there simply don’t need to be any shots to spare on the court. The development of Curry, Ferrell or Smith, Jr. could be seriously delayed by letting Ellis even take one minute away from any of those players.
This all is coming from someone who loved Monta to death while he was here. It’s not unreasonable to call him the best offensive partner to Dirk Nowitzki besides Jason Terry or Steve Nash since Nowitzki was drafted 19 years ago. However, it just isn’t the right time for Dallas to bring back a player like Ellis into the fold. On behalf of all Mavs fans, we wish you success wherever you go, Monta. Just not here.
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