NBA: Monta Ellis, The New Star In Dallas?

Monta Ellis. Photo credit NBA

by Rodney Fisher

Since being drafted 40th overall in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Golden State Warriors, Monta Ellis has been out to prove he belongs with the elite group. His natural scoring ability allowed him to bypass college for the NBA. He spent a majority of his rookie season adjusting to the business aspect of basketball that is missing from playing for your local high school team. Now with the Dallas Mavericks and importantly head coach Rick Carlisle, Ellis is ready for stardom.


Ellis spent seven years playing for the Golden State Warriors, averaging 20.4 points per game. He was their clutch scoring option throughout his tenure, but could not get his name mentioned with other players that put up numbers similar to his. After signing a $67 million contract extension to become the Warriors highest paid player, he was traded during the 2011-12 season to the Milwaukee Bucks.

He was Western Conference Player of the Week, then traded following week. His first game in a Bucks uniform was against his old team.

The Bucks three scoring guard tandem of Ellis, Brandon Jennings, and J.J. Reddick ended with a first round sweep by the Miami Heat. Soon after, Monta declared he was ready to leave and coming to Dallas would be a prime choice.

" I always like the city of Dallas", he told us during an interview after his official introduction to the media, "plus I'm a Cowboy fan."

I caught up with Monta Ellis this week at the Mavericks media day to find out about his expectations for the upcoming season:

"[I'm] very excited. It's a great group of guys. Dirk is a hall-of-fame player. I think he will take pressure off a lot guys such as Calderon, myself, and Devin Harris. I think if we come in and do what we are supposed to do we can take a lot of pressure off of him. I think it's going to be a great thing! It's going to be a fun year and very exciting."

Monta Ellis and Jose Calderon on Mavs media Day.
Photo credit Rodney Fisher

Head coach Rick Carlisle feels the same way. He told a room full of media members including myself that Monta Ellis is one of the top three players he has on the roster. He told me that the thought of Monta being able to handle the ball, cut to the basket, and play off of Dirk posting up can get them back to the playoffs.

Ellis can make this an All-Star type season. The Mavericks had no players in last year's All-Star game, but Ellis can be explosive enough in this new system under Carlisle to make his first. He, on the other hand, does not want to look to far ahead.

"The main focus is to get as many wins as we can and get back to the playoffs", he said when I asked him specifically about making the All-Star team.

The franchise is planning to promote Ellis and Jose Calderon as the new stars of the team. Last season they tried to catapult O.J. Mayo and Darren Collison to the spotlight, but neither player could back it up on the court.

With Dirk Nowitzki, Shawn Marion, and Vince Carter all 35+, Monta Ellis at age 27 can be the new star.