Monta Ellis

Pacers, Mavs, Clippers Discuss Trade For Hibbert

July 4th, 2015 at 12:36pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Pacers have contacted the Mavericks about a possible sign-and-trade deal involving center Roy Hibbert, Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times reports (Twitter link). The proposed deal would also include the Clippers, Turner notes. In the proposed deal, Indiana would send Hibbert to Dallas in exchange for Monta Ellis, who would then ship Hibbert to the Clippers in exchange for DeAndre Jordan, Turner relays (on Twitter). A source within the Mavericks’ organization doubts that the team would agree to such a transaction, since Dallas has no desire to help the Clippers improve their roster, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com relays (via Twitter). Indiana is also exploring other trade options involving the center, MacMahon adds.

Hibbert, who is scheduled to earn $15.514MM next season after exercising his player option, is no longer in the Pacers’ long-term plans, as the team is looking to implement a faster style of play. Indiana had reportedly been aggressive in their attempts to trade Hibbert prior to the 2015 NBA draft. Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird and coach Frank Vogel signaled this spring that they wanted to move on from the 28-year-old.

The big man’s contract has a 15% trade kicker included, and even though the starting salary in his deal was for the max, the kicker still has value, as he’s since accrued seven years of service and is eligible for a max worth roughly 30% of the salary cap instead of just 25%, noted Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. The kicker would add more than $2.327MM to his base salary, which the Pacers would be required to pay, though it would count toward his cap hit for whichever team were to take him on.

This potential three-way deal would benefit the Pacers the most financially, as the Mavs have already agreed to a deal with Jordan, and don’t need to free up cap space to accommodate his addition. The Pacers can likewise fit in Ellis’ new deal under their cap figure, but would certainly love to have Hibbert’s player-friendly deal off of its books for next season. As for the Clippers, in the wake of losing Jordan and the team not having sufficient cap space to sign an impact player, agreeing to the trade would allow the franchise to add a starting-caliber big man without requiring additional cap clearing moves. That last point is why the Mavs would be hesitant to agree to such a trade, and Indiana or Los Angeles would likely need to add further compensation for Dallas to consider such a trade, though that is merely my speculation.

Hibbert made 76 appearances for Indiana last season, all as a starter, and averaged 10.6 points, 7.1 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks in 25.3 minutes per game. His shooting numbers were .446/.000/.824.

Monta Ellis In Talks With Pacers

July 1st, 2015 at 4:00am CST by Chuck Myron

4:00am: Indiana is believed to be offering Ellis a deal in the three-year, $32MM range, Wojnarowski reports.

1:25am: Ellis and his family are traveling to Indiana to meet with Pacers officials on Wednesday, Wojnarowski relays (via Twitter).

1:06am: The Hawks, Nuggets and Kings are calling on Ellis tonight, too, a source tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (Twitter link).

JULY 1ST, 12:31am: Ellis is “gathering traction” in talks with the Pacers, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Bird is determined to reach a deal and the Pacers are pushing hard, Wojnarowski adds (on Twitter).

JUNE 30TH, 11:22am: The Kings have interest in Ellis, too, Broussard hears (Twitter link).

12:11pm: Interest is mutual between Ellis and the Heat, and the shooting guard also plans to talk to the Hawks, reports Shams Charania of RealGM, who suggests that Ellis would generally prefer to sign with an East Coast team.

JUNE 24TH, 10:15am: The Pacers and Heat are interested in signing Monta Ellis, who’s opting out of his contract with the Mavs to become a free agent, a source tells Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Interest from both would presumably hinge on other option decisions. The Heat would be unlikely to have the cap space necessary to chase Ellis if Dwyane Wade opts in to his $16.125MM salary for next season or if the sides work out a new deal. The same is the case with the Pacers and both Roy Hibbert and David West, who also hold player options.

Ellis, a Relativity Sports client is surely seeking more than the $8.72MM he would have seen on his player option with the Mavs. The shooting guard has until midnight tonight to change his mind and opt in, but that would be unforeseen. The Heat have only about $43MM committed for next season against a projected $67.1MM cap, but they have a lucrative offer earmarked for Goran Dragic and also seemingly have interest in retaining Luol Deng, who has a player option worth $10.152MM. A continued partnership with Wade, who’s reportedly open to leaving the team amid tense negotiations, would presumably push the team well into tax territory, though Miami is reportedly shopping Mario Chalmers and Chris Andersen in an effort to clear salary. Ellis would ostensibly be a replacement for Wade at the shooting guard position in Miami.

Indiana, unlike Miami, doesn’t have a star entrenched at two-guard, though with $36MM in guaranteed salaries on the books, Hibbert’s option of more than $15.514MM and West’s, worth $12.6MM, would largely close the door on any chance the Pacers have at opening cap room without making a trade. The deadlines both face to decide on their respective options aren’t until next week, GM Kevin Pritchard said, according to Candace Buckner of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link), and it’s unclear what they’ll choose to do. Pacers president of basketball operations Larry Bird earlier this spring seemed to encourage Hibbert to opt out as Indiana seeks a faster style of play.

Kings Eye Jrue Holiday, Schröder, Jeremy Lin

June 30th, 2015 at 12:57pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Kings are eyeing Jrue Holiday and Dennis Schröder among potential trade targets as they seek a point guard to play along with Darren Collison, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN (Twitter link), who confirms the team’s interest in Ty Lawson, too. Broussard adds Jeremy Lin to the team’s list of free agent targets and confirms that Sacramento is still high on Rajon Rondo. Kings ownership is making a hard push to sign Rondo and fellow reported target Monta Ellis, as Chris Mannix of SI.com hears (on Twitter), pointing out that Sacramento, with about $53MM in guaranteed salaries against a $67.1MM salary cap, can likely afford only one of those two.

Ellis, a shooting guard, would appear the lower priority, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee says the team is making point guard and small forward more of a priority (Twitter link). The team appears to be casting a wide net as it seeks a new point man. Coach George Karl has long seemingly been enamored with the idea of trading for Lawson, as Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck wrote months ago, though the Kings are reportedly investigating the idea of firing Karl as they gauge John Calipari‘s interest in joining the team. Lawson is set to make approximately $12.404MM next season on a contract that runs through 2016/17. Holiday’s deal with the Pelicans runs through the same season, though he’ll make only about $10.596MM next season. Schröder, whose rookie scale deal with the Hawks also goes through 2016/17, is by far the cheapest trade option, as next season he’s in line for roughly $1.763MM.

Lin would also seemingly come relatively cheaply after a largely unsuccessful stint with the Lakers. His scoring average has declined in each of the three years since his “Linsanity” season with the Knicks.

Free Agent Stock Watch: Monta Ellis

June 28th, 2015 at 8:56am CST by ChrisCrouse

Monta Ellis entered the league with great expectations for himself. As a senior in high school, Ellis had college coaches as well as NBA scouts regularly attending his games. In 2005, former Mississippi State assistant coach Phil Cunningham heavily recruited Ellis to play for the university. Cunningham laid out the facts for the guard. He told Ellis the expected salaries of each first-round pick and explained the difference between what Chris Paul, a projected top pick in the NBA draft, would make compared to someone drafted toward the end of the first round.

“If you come to Mississippi State for one year, you’re going to be the best player in the SEC. You’ll be MVP of the SEC.” Cunningham told Ellis, according to Jonathan Abrams of Grantland in a full-length article that’s worth a reread. “You’ll probably be first-team All-American. You think if you come here for one year, you can’t be as good as Chris Paul and be a top pick in the draft next year and make this type of money as opposed to going in right now and [then] you’re locked into this lower spot?”

Ellis then looked back at Cunningham, and firmly told the coach that he was already better than Paul.

Courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Since he was drafted 40th overall by the Warriors in the 2006 draft, the 6’3″ guard has played with that level of confidence. In 2010, he called himself the second best player in the league, deferring only to Kobe Bryant. Yet when his six year, $66MM contract expired after the 2012/13 season, Ellis’ stock was at a low point.

The Mavs signed Ellis to a three year, $25MM contract and during his initial season in Dallas, he was arguably the team’s most valuable player. The Mavs made the playoffs and pushed the Spurs to the brink before falling in the first round. At the time, it appeared that Dallas had found a bargain in its contract with Ellis, and it seemed like Ellis had found a long-term home.

A year later, his future isn’t as clear. Ellis has always been a liability on defense and the Mavs felt the need to upgrade the defense in their backcourt, which led to their ill-advised midseason trade for Rajon Rondo. Rondo’s presence on the team left Ellis to play off the ball more often, which is a role that he isn’t best suited for. Ellis had a dreadful second half of the season. He only made 16.9% of his three-point attempts after the All-Star break, but his numbers improved during the postseason when Rondo was putatively sidelined because of a back injury, one that was reportedly a ruse to cover a mutual parting of ways. Ellis isn’t the best spot-up shooter, but he shot a competent 36.8% on left corner threes and 35.0% from the right, according to NBA.com, better marks than players like Goran Dragic and Joe Johnson, to name a few. This advocates that Ellis can fit onto a team that doesn’t plan on making him a primary ball handler, something that could broaden his list of potential suitors.

Ellis only made 26.7% of his three-point shots from above the key. This, coupled with his playmaking ability, suggests that allowing him to be the primary ball handler is the best strategy for the team that employs him. Ellis chose not to exercise his player option worth $8.72MM with the Mavs in search of a more lucrative deal. Dallas reportedly has no intention of giving Ellis the raise he seeks and the team was apparently poised to try to trade the 29-year-old if he had opted in. It appears likely that he will be calling another city home during the 2015/16 season.

Ellis’ body of work probably warrants an eight-figure salary, as Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors wrote in the Mavs’ offseason outlook. The shooting guard is reportedly eyeing the Hawks, while the Heat and Pacers are interested in the Mississippi native. The Hawks have slightly less than $39.3MM in commitments against a projected $67.1MM cap, but the team is expected to try to retain its free agents, which would most likely bring them over the cap. The Heat have roughly $43MM in commitments for next season. The team has a lucrative offer earmarked for Dragic and also has interest in retaining Luol Deng, who has a player option worth $10.152MM. Miami also has to think about fitting in a potential raise for Dwyane Wade. The Heat presumably views signing Ellis as a backup plan if Wade decides to leave South Beach. Even if Wade departs, with the Heat’s current cap situation, the team would be hard-pressed to shoehorn in a potential $10MM annual salary for Ellis.

Indiana seems like a more logical destination for the shooting guard. The Pacers had slightly more than $36MM in guaranteed salary for 2015/16 as the offseason dawned, but player options for David West and Roy Hibbert loomed as potential complications. Hibbert apparently is opting into the last year of his deal, worth over $15.5MM. West is reportedly opting out of his contract and is reportedly favoring the Knicks as his next team. If the power forward departs, the team could have some $10MM in cap space to play with.

From a basketball standpoint, Indiana offers a good situation for the Relativity Sports client. The Pacers are one of more stable franchises in the NBA and they employ one of the better coaches in the league. George Hill would seemingly be a perfect fit next to Ellis in the backcourt. Hill is a plus defender and he has shown he can be effective without dominating the ball. Ellis could solidify the team’s guard rotation and give the franchise the additional playmaker it’s lacked since Lance Stephenson left town last offseason.

Ellis has connections to a few other franchises. Magic coach Scott Skiles coached Ellis in Milwaukee and Magic assistant coach Mario Elie coached him when he played in Golden State. Ellis played under Nuggets coach Michael Malone while he a Warrior and he has a great deal of respect for his former assistant coach. Both teams have the cap flexibility to accommodate a contract for Ellis. Still, Denver is rebuilding, so an Ellis signing wouldn’t fit in with its projected blueprint. The Magic have a young core and GM Rob Hennigan has hit the veteran market in the past to supplement the roster. However, Ellis’ outside shooting and defensive deficiencies would make him an awkward fit in Orlando.

Ellis hasn’t quite lived up to the superstar status that he projected for himself when he entered the league. Yet, he has the ability to be a major contributor on a real contender. It’s just a matter of finding the correct role and the right supporting cast that will allow him to flourish.

What do you think Ellis will make on his next deal, and where do you think he’ll end up? Let us know in the comments.

Monta Ellis Opts Out

June 25th, 2015 at 2:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

WEDNESDAY, 2:49pm: The deadline passed without an opt-in from Ellis, so he has officially opted out, reports Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (on Twitter).

11:29am: Agent Jeff Fried confirms to MacMahon that Ellis will opt out. Fried expressed that Ellis would be interested in re-signing with Dallas, as MacMahon relays, though the Mavs don’t appear to have strong reciprocal desire for that. The Pacers and Heat are interested, as we passed along in a separate post.

9:59am: Ellis has decided to opt out, a source tells MacMahon (Twitter link).

TUESDAY, 9:00am: A 90% chance exists that Monta Ellis will opt out from the Mavs to hit free agency next week, as has been expected, a source tells Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News. Ellis has until midnight tonight to decide. The news comes in the wake of a Tuesday evening report from Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com indicating that the Mavs would be likely to pursue a trade that would send Ellis away if he were to opt in. Dallas would seek a draft pick in that scenario, as MacMahon writes in a full story, and the team would target Emmanuel Mudiay in particular, according to Sefko, who suggests Dallas would try to bundle its first-round pick, at No. 21, with Ellis in trade proposals.

Trading Ellis for a pick would help the team’s free agency push, clearing the $8.72MM salary that he would receive if he were to opt in. Still, the Mavs would have the cap hold for that pick to contend with if they brought back a first-rounder. Sefko suggests that MacMahon’s report that the Mavs would look to trade him if he opted in is helping sway him to opt out instead. I wouldn’t be surprised if the team advanced the idea of trading him for just that purpose, though that’s just my speculation. If Ellis opts out, the Mavs can renounce his rights and wouldn’t have to bother with any cap hit for him. The team has no intention of giving Ellis the raise he’d seek if he were to opt out, MacMahon hears.

The Mavs have about $32MM in guaranteed salary on the books as it stands against a projected $67.1MM cap. Ellis just compiled his lowest scoring average, 18.9, since 2006/07, though it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Relativity Sports client nonetheless command eight-figure salaries in free agency, if he indeed opts out.

Mavs Likely To Shop Monta Ellis If He Opts In

June 23rd, 2015 at 6:12pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Mavericks are likely to try and trade Monta Ellis if he exercises his player option for next season, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com reports (Twitter link). The veteran guard has an option worth $8,720,000 for the 2015/16 campaign, and Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News reported earlier this month that the deadline for Ellis to make a decision was June 24th. The shooting guard is expected to opt out in search of a more lucrative contract. Dallas, without any player options taken into account, has roughly $28MM on the books for next season.

An Ellis opt-out would present the Mavs with a difficult decision. He led the team in scoring but slumped in the second half and shot just 16.9% from three-point range in regular season games after the All-Star break. However, he did make 11 of 30 three-point attempts during the playoffs. Ellis has probably played his way into making eight-figure salaries again after two years of pulling in an average of a little more than $8MM with the Mavs, Hoops Rumors’ Chuck Myron wrote in his offseason outlook for the team.

The benefit of Ellis opting out and becoming an unrestricted free agent is that it would free up additional cap space for the team to pursue free agent LaMarcus Aldridge and retain Tyson Chandler. That potential series of moves would give Dirk Nowitzki a role off the bench, which is something he is willing to consider. Though, if he did opt in and the team were to trade him for a player whose contract packs a lower cap hit, or one who is on a non-guaranteed deal, this could aid Dallas in its free agent dealings this summer.

The 29-year-old appeared in 80 games for the Mavs last season, averaging 18.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists in 33.7 minutes per contest. His shooting numbers were .445/.285/.752.

Raymond Felton Opts In With Mavs

June 22nd, 2015 at 4:53pm CST by Zachary Links

JUNE 22ND: The point guard has formally opted in, tweets Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. He’s been involved in a couple of trade rumors since the last report.

MAY 18TH: Felton and one of his representatives has told the Mavs that the Wasserman Media Group client will indeed opt in, several sources told Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News today. Neither Felton nor his camp has filed the official paperwork yet, but they have until June 23rd to do so, according to Sefko. That’s six days earlier than the usual June 29th decision date on player options. Sefko also reveals that Monta Ellis has a June 24th deadline on his player option worth $8.72MM. There’s been no indication that Ellis has decided whether to opt in or opt out. Dallas, without any player options taken into account, has about $28MM on the books for next season.

MAY 8TH: Mavericks guard Raymond Felton will file paperwork to exercise his $3.9MM player option for next season, league sources told Shams Charania of RealGM. Felton, 30, saw time in just 29 regular season games last season.

The Mavs’ backcourt was hit hard by injuries in the spring and coach Rick Carlisle offered high praise of the veteran guard’s play during that time.

“He’s a high-integrity guy. He really is,” said Carlisle. “He’s a high-integrity competitor. There hasn’t been one time this year where he’s dropped his head or pouted. When he was hurt, when he came back and there weren’t minutes right away, he’s just remained consistently professional and he kept working extremely hard, which shows now that he’s getting an opportunity to play.”

Thanks to Felton’s ankle injury and the four-game suspension he was issued with after pleading guilty to a gun charge, the guard didn’t make his regular season debut until late December. Felton has averaged 12.7 PPG and 6.3 APG over the course of his career with the Bobcats, Knicks, Blazers, Nuggets, and Mavs.

Mavs Notes: Oden, Villanueva, Ellis

June 20th, 2015 at 8:14pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Earlier today, it was reported that Greg Oden will work out for the Mavs as part of a mini-camp the team is conducting. Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com (Twitter link) adds that Oden is on a list with guys like Samuel Dalembert and Jermaine O’Neal for a potential minimum-salary arrangement to be one of the team’s backup big men. Charlie Villanueva, Amar’e Stoudemire and Greg Smith are all free agents this summer, leaving Dwight Powell as the only remaining big man under contract that primarily came off the bench last season.

Here’s more from Dallas:

The team would welcome back Villanueva if he is willing to play for the veteran’s minimum again, MacMahon writes. The forward enjoyed playing in Dallas last season, which included his first career playoff appearance. “I like my role,” Villanueva said. “I embraced it, I accepted it. I’ve been in the league for 10 years and been coached by nine different coaches. I would love to experience the same coach again next year, but we’ll see.”
The Mavericks’ entire offseason hinges on Monta Ellis‘ decision to either opt in or out of his contract, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News opines. The shooting guard is expected to opt out in search of a more lucrative contract. If Ellis leaves in free agency, it would leave a huge void in the team’s backcourt. However, Sefko notes it would free up additional cap space to pursue LaMarcus Aldridge and retain Tyson Chandler. That potential series of moves would give Dirk Nowitzki a role off the bench, which is something he is willing to consider.

Mavs Notes: Rondo, Jefferson, Ellis

June 17th, 2015 at 11:30am CST by Chuck Myron

The Warriors won the 2014/15 title, but the Mavs appear poised to make an aggressive push to have more success in the 2015 offseason than any other team. They’re reportedly going after LaMarcus Aldridge and DeAndre Jordan, the No. 3 and No. 8 players in the latest Hoops Rumors Free Agent Power Rankings, though Dallas hasn’t been too successful in luring marquee free agents since winning the title in 2011. As we wait to see if that changes this summer, here’s more on the Mavs:

Dallas would prefer to operate as an over-the-cap team this summer to preserve use of the full $5.464MM mid-level exception, one of the reasons why the Mavs cased Rajon Rondo‘s mutual parting with the team during the playoffs in the context of a back injury, as Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com details. Of course, Dallas still wants to go after apparent targets like Aldridge and Jordan, so sign-and-trades would be necessary to accomplish that while over the cap, MacMahon explains, suggesting the Mavs would prefer to officially end Rondo’s tenure on the team by sending him out via sign-and-trade.
The Mavs would like to re-sign Richard Jefferson as long as he’s willing to come back at the minimum salary, MacMahon writes in a separate piece.
Dirk Nowitzki said Tuesday that he’d love for the Mavs to keep Tyson Chandler and Monta Ellis and sign Aldridge, but having all three on next year’s team is most likely unfeasible, MacMahon tweets. Nowitzki also said that his gut feeling is that Ellis will opt out, as Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com relays (Twitter link). Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News passes along more of Nowitzki’s comments.

Southwest Notes: Ellis, Llull, Duncan, Collins

June 11th, 2015 at 1:44pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavs won’t prioritize re-signing Monta Ellis if he opts out in search of a raise, as expected, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. Ellis, who made $8.36MM this season, had a negative effect on team chemistry this past season because of his moodiness and selfish behavior, a source told MacMahon. The Mavs prefer to spend on either a combination of LaMarcus Aldridge and Tyson Chandler or DeAndre Jordan and a three-and-D wing player, MacMahon adds. That’s in part because the Mavs believe Chandler Parsons will be better off without Ellis’ on-court and off-court influence, as MacMahon details. Still, the Mavs are liable to change their minds based on unforeseen scenarios, just as they did when they decided to up their offer when they signed Ellis two years ago, MacMahon cautions. I looked further into Ellis scenarios when I examined the offseason ahead for the Mavs. Here’s more from around the Southwest Division:

The Rockets have let Sergio Llull know that they’re willing to offer him a three-year deal worth $15-18MM, sources tell Nikos Varlas of Eurohoops.net. Houston GM Daryl Morey batted down a similar report from Javier Maestro of Encestando.es in March, but coach Kevin McHale recently made it clear that the team would like to sign the draft-and-stash point guard. Still, there’s a pricey $4MM buyout attached to Llull’s contract with Real Madrid, Varlas writes, adding that if Llull doesn’t end up in Houston for next season, the team would push to sign draft-and-stash center Marko Todorovic.
Attorneys for Tim Duncan today requested that a trial in his lawsuit against a former financial adviser of his take place next summer so that he won’t miss playing time, tweets Guillermo Contreras of the San Antonio Express-News. That doesn’t necessarily signal that the Spurs star intends to play next season, only that he isn’t ruling it out, writes Express-News scribe Jeff McDonald, though it’s an interesting tidbit nonetheless.
Chris Mannix of SI.com has heard Jarron Collins‘ name bandied about as a possible assistant coach for new Pelicans head man Alvin Gentry (Twitter link). Collins, like Gentry, has spent this past season as a Warriors assistant coach.

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