How Stephen Curry and Monta Ellis Can Coexist

I would start by referring to this Warriors team as a rabble. Unfortunately, that would be an insult to rabbles. There is nothing that says a disorganised, unholy rabble can't play with heart and passion—two qualities that have been lacking at times from the Warriors. If not from the players on court, then definitely from management and some of the guys on the bench.

OK, I take that back. Basically one guy on the bench. That guy is Monta Ellis.

When Monta was fit earlier in the season, while he was scoring plenty of points, he also jacked up his fair share of bad shots. And he refused to pass the ball unless he had to. It was also argued that he was stunting the development of rookie Stephen Curry.

This last point has arguably been proved correct, as since the All-Star break (where Monta has mostly been injured) Curry has come into his own as a player. So much, in fact, that he is a ROY contender and being talked about as a future superstar.

Whereas Monta, on the other hand, has been facing calls to be traded all through Warrior Nation ever since this period. Every time he claims he and Curry can't coexist or that he's doing too much for the team, he's been met with a chorus of hecklers and calls to stop being a ball-hog or get out of town.

Indeed, the Grizzlies offered a package of O.J. Mayo and Hasheem Thabeet just before the trade deadline, which management wisely (and I never thought I'd say those two words in a sentence together when referring to Golden State management) kiboshed. Why would you bring in a Superbust and a poor man's version of what you're sending away?  

I will admit, I was an early caller for Monta to be shipped out. I even tried to float a trade around the internet (in the slim hope that Nellie and Larry Riley were reading) of Monta for Andre Iguodala.

However, the more I think about it, the more hope I have that Monta and Steph can begin to coexist and become the most lethal backcourt in the NBA. (With the current dysfunction, they still score more points than any other backcourt when playing together. How good could they be if Monta played nice?) 

There are a few steps to go through before this Utopia can be reached, however.

No. 1 Don't Trade Monta.

I know this may seem obvious for my scenario, but nothing GSW management does surprises me anymore. It wouldn't surprise me if they did Wallace (my word for an incredibly lopsided trade) Monta for a second round pick, a six pack, and a box of cigars only to expect (quoting Rick Pitino) him to walk through the door. 

For that matter, this also applies to Stephen Curry. With one exception—if they were to flip Steph right now, there would probably be riots in the Bay. Surely even Larry Riley isn't that stupid.

No. 2 Don't Draft Another Gu ard.

I already made my views on drafting John Wall clear here . If the Warriors do get the first pick and draft Wall, package him and a couple of bad contracts (cough...Maggette...cough) for a big man.

If the Warriors don't get the first pick, either go for Evan Turner, who can slot into the three or even a four under Nellie Ball, or a big man. Greg Monroe was my first choice, but I've been hearing bad things about his commitment recently. DeMarcus Cousins is a terrific prospect but a total head case, and Derrick Favors could be great but is still pretty raw.

No. 3 Delegate most of the ballplaying to Steph.

One of the problems with playing a backcourt of Monta and Curry is that they both need the ball in their hands to be most effective.

However, as we have seen, only one of them is able to do something with the ball other than "dribble past three point arc, either jack up shot or try to get to hoop".

The simple fact is, Curry is a natural playmaker. Monta is not. Plain and simple. And even in an age of score-first point guards and tweeners (arguably both Monta and Steph belong in this category), a good point guard is still expected to be able to run the offense both for himself and his teammates. Steph can do this, Monta can't.

What Monta can do very well is score. Which leads me to...

No. 4 Have Monta work on his off-the-ball game.

Currently, Monta does not have a very strong off the ball game—he relies on getting a lot of touches and jacking them up as we know.

However, if anyone ever had a scorer's mentality, he does. Even though he is a bit lacking in height, I believe if he can realise his role as a pure scorer (a 6'3" Kevin Durant, basically), he can play a major role on a GOOD Warriors team. His mid-range shot is one of the best in the game, he's quick and athletic enough to get to the hoop when he wants to, and he's a solid free throw shooter. Even if his three ball isn't the best, we have Steph plus Morrow off the bench.

However, to attain this role, he needs to learn to become more effective coming off screens, being there on the drive and kick, having isolation plays run for him, what have you.

I'm sure he'd give up the playmaking duties—if nothing else, his stats can increase when used in this manner. Because Steph is more than good enough (and enough of a team player) to do the dirty work and spoon-feed Monta whatever he wants. You want it soft and chest high off a screen? Done.

I imagine some of you will be thinking I'm out of my mind for believing this could work. But ask yourselves this. We've had so many years of near-constant losing. Yet this year has almost been a nadir. Could things get any worse? (True, we could be the Nets, but they're a special case).

Isn't it about time they tried something, anything, no matter how far out of left field, to finally get the poor yet loyal Bay Area out of its misery?