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Monta Ellis has been one of the key members of the Dallas Mavericks for the past two seasons, and he has improved his game each season. They have seen him go from being a very high volume shooter with quite a few bad shots being taken, to a player who can make plays for his teammates and focuses more on taking quality shots.
It appears that the Mavericks are headed for a split with Ellis, however, due to the fact that Mark Cuban is going to pursue some very expensive free agents. Reports broke that the Mavericks will likely look to trade Ellis if he opts into the final year of his deal, and if he doesn’t then he will hit the free agency market.
I’m hearing that Mavs are likely to try to move Monta Ellis in trade if he opts in for final season of contract before tomorrow’s deadline.
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) June 23, 2015
During the 2014-15 season with the Mavericks, Ellis ended up averaging 18.9 points, 4.1 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game. He shot 44.5 percent from the field overall and also knocked down 28.5 percent of his three-point attempts. Those numbers show exactly why he will be just fine no matter what ends up happening, and there are quite a few teams that could use his skill set.
One team that should do whatever it takes to bring him on board is the Boston Celtics, who are in desperate need of adding a veteran scoring presence.
At 29 years old, Ellis is still in the prime of his career and would be exactly the type of player Boston has been needing. They were one of the biggest surprises in the NBA last season and ended up making the playoffs despite people not giving them much of a chance. Unfortunately, they had to go up against the Cleveland Cavaliers and were promptly swept out of the postseason.
Boston has an excellent nucleus built, and Brad Stevens is one of the best coaches in the game. Bringing Ellis on board would be a perfect addition to go alongside of Marcus Smart and Isaiah Thomas in the backcourt.
Ellis would immediately become the top scoring option for the Celtics and would give Stevens exactly what he was missing in the playoffs last year. If they had Ellis during their playoff series against the Cavaliers, they likely would have won a game or two. He is the type of scorer that can take over games in the clutch, which is exactly the time that Boston needed a scorer.
Whether Ellis decides to opt into his deal or not, the Celtics need to do whatever it takes to bring him on board.
Evan Massey is a featured writer for www.RantSports.com, and contributes across the NFL, MLB, NCAA and NBA portions of the site. Follow him on Twitter at @Massey_Evan and like him on Facebook.
