When the Golden State Warriors hired Jerry West as an adviser to the team, did they think he would be advising that their best player be traded?West's quote in Tim Kawakami's column in the San Jose Mercury News this past Wednesday did just that.
“I’ve seen teams trade players that score tons of points and people say, ‘How in the world can you trade that player?’ ” West said last week. “Because he might score tons of points and the team doesn’t win."
“When I look at (the Warriors), obviously they need more size.”
Sure, West was not going to name names, but that did not stop Kawakami from going to directly to the point behind West's words.
West was insinuating trading the Warriors' leading scorer Monta Ellis.
This would just be another Ellis trade rumor if it was not uttered from the mouth of The Logo, a man that is said to have tremendous pull in the decisions that the Warriors make.
The problem for the Golden State is that Monta Ellis, their leading scorer at 24 points per game last season, has terrible trade value on the market.
So why trade a player that scores the majority of your team's points if you are unsure if you are going to get the same production in return?
This will have to be a very convincing deal for the Warriors.
After the article broke on Wednesday, the flood gates opened.
Here are some of the rumored trades involving Ellis, and if they will work.
Monta Ellis To the Chicago Bulls
This one is a little suspicious, if you ask me.
The Chicago Bulls, who had the best regular season record in the Eastern Conference, are willing to part with a portion of their good core of young players for Monta Ellis?
The rumor has either Luol Deng or Joakim Noah heading to Golden State in return for Ellis and another player of Chicago's reasonable choosing.
Deng is said to be the emotional back-bone of the Bulls, so I doubt that that trade goes down, but the Noah trade has intrigued the internet over these last 48 hours.
Noah is set to make $10 million next season, and Ellis will make $11 million.
Like a puzzle.....
Noah fits Golden State's need for a defensive big man, and Chicago gets a definitive scorer, possibly as a sixth man, that coach Tom Thibodeau can mold into a moderately good perimeter defender.
If this trade is for real, it will take some guts on the Warriors' part, but well worth it in the long run.
Monta Ellis To the Memphis Grizzlies
How sick are you of the Ellis to Memphis trade rumors?
Last offseason, the Warriors turned down a trade that would send Ellis to Memphis for O.J. Mayo and Hasheem Thabeet. Former Warriors' owner Chris Cohan and Co. could not pull the trigger.
Now, with a new Warriors ownership not quite sold on Ellis in the team's future plans, that trigger might be a little more easier to pull this time.
The rumored trade no longer involves Thabeet, but Mayo still stands, as does another trade involving Rudy Gay. Gay has been apart of several trade rumors that could occur during the upcoming NBA Draft.
Disregard those Gay trade rumors, however. He was not with the team for their playoff run, and the team will be ecstatic to get their most athletic player back from injury and ready for next season. Plus, the owner and beat writer both refuted the idea.
Back to Mayo and Ellis, though.
Is Mayo worth it?
What I mean is will Mayo give the Warriors even the same production that Ellis gave them?
The answer is 'no.'
Although Mayo would be more of a team player, given his passing abilities, the Warriors would be taking a huge hit in the scoring department, without gaining the height they need in the backcourt.
Not worth it, unless Gay is available.
Monta Ellis To the Minnesota Timberwolves For the No. 2 Overall Pick
This one kind of came out of nowhere, but ESPN's Chad Ford reported it and we believe anything that comes from ESPN, right?
No word from the Timberwolves or Warriors as to if this rumor is true, but it seems as though Ford was just throwing something out there to get a reaction.
Still, it could stir something up, and we love that.
It would obviously be an Ellis for Derrick Williams trade that could work very well for both teams.
The Wolves would get their backcourt scorer, and the Warriors would get their athletic size at the small forward position, as well as save money in the process by not having to pay Ellis through the roof in the near future.
Whether or not this deal would work, it seems as though it is just speculation at the moment.
Jerry West is making some impression in Golden State so far.
Note to warriors players. Kiss Lacobs' a&^ enthusiastically and regularly. Otherwise, just look at what's happening to Monta.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, i think he is a listener more than a man of action. By that i mean that he is listening to Jerry West on the future of the W's and making decisions accordingly.
ReplyDeleteNot sure Monta's attitude had anything to do with that, but i would listen to most things West says.