NBA Trade Rumors: Why Monta Ellis Is Unlikely to Be Moved Before Trade Deadline

The Golden State Warriors want a star in return for Monta Ellis. However, they probably won't get one, and that's a major reason why—despite the front office actively pursuing trades as the trade deadline approaches—Ellis will remain with the Warriors this season.

We start with a report from Tim Kawakami of the Mercury News:

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The Warriors, as has been their stance for years, want a star in return for Ellis, who they consider a premium value because of his rare scoring ability and the dearth of scoring shooting guards in the league.

They don’t want to move Ellis just for cap relief. They are quite insistent on that, I’ve heard.

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But is Ellis worth a star in return?

Yes, he's an electric scorer, but he also shoots a ton (10th most field goal attempts in the NBA this year) and doesn't exactly play inspired defense. If I were a general manager, I would offer the Warriors a package of young players with potential, above-average veterans and draft picks, but I wouldn't give up a star.

Of course, as Kawakami notes, the best deal the team might have got slipped through the cracks last season. The Minnesota Timberwolves offered Michael Beasley, Nikola Pekovic and the second overall pick in the 2011 NBA draft, which turned into Derrick Williams.

The deal hit a snag when the teams couldn't agree on an additional piece Minnesota would receive in return alongside Ellis.

Of course, Pekovic was then a throw-in, but has become a shockingly effective starter at center for the Timberwolves this season, averaging 12.5 points and 7.2 rebounds in 24.4 minutes per game.

I've always thought a straight-up Ellis for Andre Iguodala trade with the Philadelphia 76ers would make sense for each team, but that's yet to happen. Still, as "stars" in the NBA go, Iggy might be as close as Golden State could feasibly hope to get in return for Ellis.

Matt Moore of CBS Sports puts it rather succinctly:

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He's too good not to get great return on, but not good enough to have teams clamoring for him to come in and dramatically change their offense. He's a player that as a third option would be monstrous, an absolute killer, and as a second option would be very, very good. But the market for stars is tight right now in the NBA.

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Unless Golden State lessens their expectations, Ellis won't be going anywhere. For a team that plans to be active until the deadline, that means their primary trade chip can't be utilized.

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