The Golden State Warriors have signed second round draft choice Monta Ellis to a multi-year contract, Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Mullin announced today. Per team policy, terms of the agreement were not released. Ellis, 19, was selected by Golden State with the 40th overall pick (10th in the second round) of the 2005 NBA Draft out of Lanier High School in Jackson, MS. In five games as part of the Warriors? summer league squad at the Reebok Vegas Summer League in July, Ellis averaged 15.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.00 steals in 31.2 minutes. The first American high school player ever selected by the Warriors, his summer league scoring average (15.8 ppg) led all second round picks participating in the Las Vegas league and ranked second among all 2005 second round picks in any NBA summer league (Salim Stoudimire 16.5 ppg, Rocky Mountain Review). A 2005 McDonald?s All-American, Ellis was one of 10 finalists for the 2005 Naismith Award, which is given annually to the nation?s top high school player. He was named Mr. Basketball in the state of Mississippi following his senior season, when he averaged 38.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 4.5 steals while leading his team to a 35-2 record and the Class 4A state championship. He scored a career-high 72 points against Greenwood and tallied 42 points against Oak Hill Academy, which was ranked #1 in the nation by USA Today. Overall during his four-year scholastic career, the 6-3, 175-pound guard racked up 4,167 points (second all-time in Mississippi history among big-school players) and helped lead his team to four consecutive trips to the state championship finals, where they captured two titles (2002, 2005). source: http://www.insidehoops.com/ellis-warriors-081005.shtml
great signing, Monta could become an amazing player one day. Lets hope he can reach his full potential.
Monta Ellis! I just hope he can get the minutes he needs to stay sharp and grow as a player. I'm biased but I think Monta has the tools to anchor the second unit with Pietrus by midseason. Imagine having two potent defenders wreaking havoc on the defensive end and then flying down the court slashing, dunking, and ripping the nets from anywhere.
Unless Fisher or Pietrus gets injured, it would be extremely hard for Ellis to get mins. As a matter of fact, I am not even sure he will be ahead of Cheaney in deapt chart, since Monty does prefer vets over rookies. However, the way Ellis playing in summer league, I don't think we have to wait too much. He can very well be our Boykins or Cardinal, who brings energy from the bench...
Good signing. Monta is going to be good. He can play both the 1 and 2 and can finish around the basket. From the SL downloads he looked like a weaker, less explosive Gilbert Arenas.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting upsidedownside7:</div><div class="quote_post">Monta is going to be good. He can play both the 1 and 2 and can finish around the basket. From the SL downloads he looked like a weaker, less explosive Gilbert Arenas.</div> Thats pretty much the same impression I got but the scary thing is that Monta is better than Gilbert was when he was Monta's age.
The cool thing is Montay isn't the headcase Arenas can be. If somebody criticizes him for not passing the ball, all he'll do is pass in protest. He won't shoot or score. Also it looks like Montay puts more emphasis on defense and his shooting stroke looks good despite the low fg%'s. He reminds me a bit of Devin Harris of the Mavericks.