Well, that Ray Allen/Monta Ellis rumor was fun. Too bad it appears there’s absolutely no truth to it. It’s so silly that Warriors coach Don Nelson “literally laughed off” the rumor when it was mentioned to him.
It was a pretty ridiculous rumor to begin with. How do we know? Put it this way: anytime both fanbases don’t want to make the trade, it’s pretty much not happening.
Don Nelson Laughs Off Monta Ellis/Ray Allen Rumor, Both Team Bloggers Hate It
SB Nation’s Celtics Blog weighs the pros and cons before ultimately deciding against the trade. Here are the cons that eventually tipped the scale.
-Monta is a terrible fit for this team as it is constructed. He needs the ball in his hands a lot.
-Next year means nothing to this team until next year. We cannot do anything to sabotage the chances of winning it all this year (unless management is convinced that this team is fatally flawed already – which I don’t think is the case at all).
-Ray Allen, on the other hand, is a perfect fit for this team. As discussed on this blog at least a few thousand times in the last few years.
In a word, chemistry.-The numbers don’t really work very well. We’d have to take Vlad Rad’s contract and he’s not going to opt out next season, so we’d be stuck with him for another year.
So basically, Ellis would be a bad fit for this roster and would cost a lot more long-term money, while Ray Allen is a good fit for this roster and doesn’t cost much long-term money. Makes sense.
SB Nation’s Warriors blog Golden State of Mind, however, also doesn’t want to make the trade:
While Monta Ellis is having a superb season considering his Moped Gate comeback, heavy minutes, and lack of help (due to both lack of talent and perpetually injured teammates), it’s hard to call him untouchable. He will never be a legit point guard in this league given his seemingly unsolvable high dribble and addiction to the dangerously sweet things in life… like apple TURNOVERS. His defense is vastly improved, but he’s not exactly a shutdown defender. Monta’s hoops IQ leaves a lot to be desired, especially at the end of quarters and games. His history of tantrums is indeed a huge red flag.
It’s also true that the Monta Ellis- Stephen Curry backcourt probably won’t go all that far. Baron Davis – Jason Richardson aka BoomRich they are not.
BUT trading him for an expiring contract at this point is just foolish. Absolutely foolish. Ray Allen is on the decline and will not re-sign with the Warriors this offseason. That cap space is worthless for a team owned by Chris Cohan.
Don’t get me wrong. I do love Ray Allen. I mean who doesn’t love some Jesus Shuttleworth? But this isn’t about the Warriors brining in Ray Allen, it’s about dumping more money from the books.
Basically, move along, nothing to see here. At least it was fun.
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