The Dallas Mavericks and guard Monta Ellis reportedly are headed for a split when free agency begins in July. Many believe Ellis, whose moodiness is said to be hurting the team, will decline his player option after the season and test the market, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon.
Dallas and Ellis appear ready to part ways after the season. MacMahon reported Ellis is expected to opt out of his contract after the season and become a free agent, something that Dallas would likely be more than happy to see.
"The Dallas Mavericks have a major problem with Monta Ellis," MacMahon wrote Monday. "... Regardless of whether anyone will admit it on the record, Ellis is a big part of that problem. Folks in the Mavs organization have been fretting for weeks about the impact Ellis' moodiness has on the team's soul."
Dallas has won just half of its last 10 games, and the team's loss on Sunday to Phoenix led to coach Rick Carlisle going in front of the media and publicly ripping his players for their lack of effort. Ellis finished with 11 points on 4-of-22 shooting on Sunday, another example of his inconsistency.
He hasn't been the consistent, clutch scorer Dallas hoped for when it signed him last season to a three-year, $25 million contract. His lack of production - 19 points per game over 1 1/2 seasons with Dallas- apparently isn't the only problem, either.
"To put it bluntly, he's a pain in the butt who isn't producing," MacMahon wrote. "... That, of course, isn't a first for Ellis. He had trouble getting along with teammates during his tenure with the Golden State Warriors, who never won anything of note with Ellis as the go-to guy and made an addition-by-subtraction deal by shipping him off. The same was true with the Milwaukee Bucks."
The other scenario is Ellis realizes he won't get a better contract in free agency and decides to play out the final year of his deal, which would cost Dallas $8.72 million next season. If that were to happen and Ellis's play didn't dramatically improve, he'd likely be shopped all next season before the deadline.
