NBA Rumors: Monta Ellis To Indiana Pacers On Hold As Team Runs Out Of Cap Room
The Indiana Pacers agreed to a four-year, $44 million contract with guard Monta Ellis a few weeks ago. He opted out of his contract with the Dallas Mavericks to take his talents to Indianapolis. But it appears it will take some time for that move to become official.
According to Zach Lowe of Grantland, the NBA has temporarily disallowed the Pacers from signing Ellis as they have run out the necessary cap room to sign him.
Cap minutia: league has temporarily disallowed Monta Ellis’s contract w/ Pacers; team ran out of room, just has to re-order transactions.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) July 17, 2015
But Pacers fans should not be worried. Lowe goes on to state that Ellis will end up in a Pacers uniform as originally planned. The team will simply have to restructure their cap space before signing Ellis. While it may confuse fans as to how a team could mess up with its cap room, Lowe also notes that it’s far from an uncommon occurrence.
In other words, Monta will sign w/ Indy. Things will be fine. DEN got slammed for screwing up Faried’s contract, but it happens to others. — Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) July 17, 2015
Repeat: Ellis will be a Pacer, nothing is amiss. Just thought it was fair, given DEN criticism, to point out this happens. Cap is complex.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) July 17, 2015
If and when the Pacers ink Ellis, they will receive an explosive scorer who has proven that he can still be a force. The 29-year-old spent the last two seasons in a Mavericks uniform, averaging 19 PPG during both seasons. In addition to leading the Mavericks in scoring last season, Ellis averaged 4.1 APG, 2.4 RPG, and shot.445 percent from the field.
However, it’s Ellis’ reputation of being moody and difficult that likely scared other teams away from him. In an earlier report from ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, it was noted that the Mavericks were prepared to move on from their scoring guard, citing both his personality and one dimensional style of play.
“Ellis should not anticipate that raise coming from the Mavs, who would rather move on than make a major long-term investment in a one-dimensional player whose moodiness and selfishness negatively impacted the team’s chemistry last season, according to sources with knowledge of the front office’s thought process.”
As a prior report on the Inquisitr stated, the Mavericks ended up replacing Ellis by inking Wesley Matthews to a maximum salary contract.
Despite those issues, if Ellis is able to sustain his current style of play for the duration of his impending contract, the Pacers should be happy. At one time, Ellis routinely posted over 20 PPG as a member of the Golden State Warriors. Those days may be over, but Ellis’ ability to lead a team with his scoring prowess is not.
[Image by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images]
