JULY 23RD, 2:45pm: The Mavericks have finally made the Ellis signing official, announcing the deal today in a press release.
JULY 12TH, 3:36pm: The deal is expected to be in the $28MM range, tweets Sam Amick of USA Today.
2:47pm: The Mavericks and Monta Ellis have reached an agreement that will land the free agent guard in Dallas, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein. Ellis will receive a three-year deal that figures to be worth between $25-30MM overall, depending on how the Mavs' cap situation shakes out.
It was just two days ago that GM Donnie Nelson told reporters that the Mavs likely wouldn't be too involved in the Ellis sweepstakes, but it appears that was just a smoke screen. The Kings, Hawks, and Bobcats were cited as other potential suitors for the free agent guard.
Ellis reportedly parted ways with longtime agent Jeff Fried recently, after being disappointed by the lack of interest he was receiving on the open market. Dan Fegan of Relativity Sports was expected to replace Fried as Ellis' rep, though players typically have to wait 15 days before hiring a new agent, so it's not clear if Fegan negotiated the deal with the Mavs.
Even if Ellis receives $30MM from the Mavs for three years, he'll be earning a lesser annual salary than he could have received from the Bucks. The 27-year-old turned down an $11MM player option to hit the open market, and reportedly turned down a three-year, $36MM extension offer from Milwaukee last season.
According to Stein, the Mavericks continue to negotiate with Samuel Dalembert, and could pursue other bigs as well, but Dallas may be capped out after Ellis' deal, leaving just the $2.65MM room exception to offer non-minimum players.
Offensively, this team will be solid. Question is, how well will they defend.
left money on the table, i wonder why Jennings and Ellis both want to leave Mil
Well i can’t imagine Milwaukee being fun especially compared to Dallas
The same reason he fired his agent – he thought he was going to get more money or more years. Insane. And take a trip to Milwaukee before saying stuff like that. I’ve been in both cities and I actually prefer Milwaukee. Dallas is obviously bigger though.
i’ve been there and i’ve lived in Dallas before ..Dallas is much better especially for NBA stars who go out always
Cool, but which city you and I prefer doesn’t make one objectively worse than the other.
Very true – Dallas is no doubt the better basketball city though. The Bucks haven’t had a clear plan for a while.
How the mighty have fallen. Though this looks like it could be a solid deal for the Mavs with limited years and a somewhat manageable salary.