Point-Guard-Gate: Monta's Power Grab Or Draft Ruse?

In normal circumstances, teams that are looking forward to the draft don't have to worry about players they signed to a long extension less than a year earlier. But when the team is the Golden State Warriors and the player is Monta Ellis, all bets are off.

On Tuesday, reports came out that a meeting had taken place between new Golden State GM Larry Riley, Don Nelson, and Ellis. In this meeting, Ellis was supposedly promised that the Warriors would not draft a point guard in the upcoming draft.

By Thursday, Monta was declaring that he wanted to be Warrior for the rest of his career, and Golden State management was busy talking about how Ellis wasn't a problem.

According to Ellis' agent: “The GM and the coach traveled to Memphis to further provide that assurance to Monta that this is his team and they’re looking to build this team around him for years to come . . . [His] response to them was that the most important component is winning. He wants to win and he wants to win with the Warriors.”

Typical of agent-speak, the quote potentially provides support for those on all sides of the point guard issue.

Fans who believe that Monta should stay on the team - but as a shooting guard - will point to the fact that a shooting guard is often the center of the team. Although Monta is not Kobe or Jordan, he might become a consistent all-star in the not-so-distant future. As a feature of the offense. Monta would still handle the ball on almost every possession, he just wouldn't be passing the ball from the point guard position.

In some cases, what would be good from Monta's perspective would also help the franchise as a whole. Trading the shot-hogging Corey Maggette, for example would result in more touches not only for Ellis, but for the entire team.

Monta playing the point is not one of them.

Below is an excerpt from a scouting report on Ellis from 2005 (predicting either a late first-round or early-second round selection of Ellis in the draft):

"His main draw is the fact that he's an outstanding athlete, being extremely quick and smooth in the open floor with a dynamite first step. He gets into the lane . . . whenever he pleases, elevating off one foot in the lane and hanging to finish fearlessly and creatively at the basket. He is very quick off his feet.

. . . [But] AAU ball has basically left him no grasp or comprehension of team basketball or fundamentals, and he probably wouldn't understand what's wrong with that if you tried to explain it to him . . .

His biggest problem for the short and possibly long term is that he has no NBA position. He's a 6-3 SG with absolutely no PG skills whatsoever . . . The concept of running set plays is completely foreign to him, not being capable of doing anything in a half-court offense at this point except create his own shot off the dribble or drive and dish after drawing a crowd . . .

Ellis has consistently shown a poor attitude and immaturity, pouting when things don't go his way or when the ball isn't in his hands for more than 5 seconds. He refused to shake anyone's hand at the end of the [2005] McDonalds [High-School All-American] game, because he was mad at his coach for not giving him more minutes at the PG spot . . ." (DraftExpress)

The Warriors knew who they were getting in Ellis: a player that had a chance to be superstar in the league, but was a project. In the second round, those types of players are all a GM can hope for. Complete-package superstars almost never fall out of the lottery, let alone the first round. Even supporters of Monta playing the one would agree that Ellis should work more on improving his game, and worry less about his role on the team.

Anthony Randolph was also a risk, and has had his maturity issues as well. But Randolph has adapted well to Don Nelson's system, and is spending the off-season improving his game by hitting the gym. "I'm learning when and where to do things . . . and how to put the ball on the floor as little as possible to get where I need to go," Randolph was quoted as saying earlier this week. No mopeds in sight.

Ellis' main fault (on the court) is that he wants to be a point guard. League scouts and GM's know this. Whether or not Monta demanded that the organization not draft a point guard, the issue needs to be addressed. If Baron Davis was still on the team, Monta would be a shooting guard - a highly-successful one. The only reason why Monta handled the ball more last season was that Jamal Crawford is not a pure point guard either.

Ellis needs to realize that if he's going to retire a Warrior, he should get used to having the ball passed to him, not trying to be a distributor. If Don Nelson lets him get away with some point-guard duties now, the next coach (hopefully) won't.

Conspiracy theorists will note that denials and assurances similar to those by Ellis and the Warriors' brass have taken place just before major trades throughout NBA history, including the Jason Richardson-for-Brandan Wright deal.

Trading Ellis is not the answer, however, unless the rumors that Toronto is going to sign-and-trade Chris Bosh are true. Ellis can become a star shooting guard, especially if teamed with a tall point guard who can help him defend wings and long guards.

Recent mock drafts, however, suggest that Tyreke Evans could be drafted in the five-to-seven range (possibly even at four by the Kings if Rubio is gone), leaving the Warriors with a choice between point guards Jrue Holliday and Stephen Curry, forwards Terrence Williams and Jordan Hill, and wing DeMar DeRozan. In this case, unless Golden State trades down, large segments of the fan base will likely be upset.

Ironically, this scenario would allow Monta to continue his case for point guard duties, unless Williams was used a point-forward.

If Golden State selects Hill or DeRozan, those who believe that Monta now controls the team will no doubt contend that Golden State's management has caved in by not taking a point guard. But Hill could be the best player on the board by the time the Warriors draft. Jordan would bring rebounding and inside scoring, which is needed on any team hoping to compete in the Western Conference.

Some scouts (and no doubt some teams) regard Hill as one of the top talents in the draft, regardless of position, and if he lived up to his potential, Jordan could help appease both the fan-base and Monta by helping Golden State win games.

But even a value pick has risks. The 2010 draft looks to be as loaded with forwards as the 2009 draft is with point guards. Ed Davis, Cole Aldrich, Derrick Favors, or even Greg Monroe (if he dramatically improves) or DeMarcus Cousins could all turn out to be better than Hill, who is already twenty-one.

In that case, missing out on a point guard (even a risk such as Brandon Jennings) to take Hill would not reflect well on the Warrior's new GM. And Warriors fans aren't likely to forget that Monta's fellow 2005 draftee, Ike Diogu, was the last Pac-10 power forward picked by the organization.

Don Nelson is well-known for his draft-related smoke-screens. And a new GM who was apparently appointed to continue the status quo isn't likely to begin his tenure by trading an important piece of the team's core. But there is more than enough futility and poor decisions in the franchise's past to make Golden State's fans at least a little skeptical of the front office's intentions. Hopefully, the Warriors still intend to finally move on from the post-Baron era and find the next point guard who will lead them to the playoffs.