Indiana Pacers: See You Later, Monta Ellis
The Indiana Pacers parted ways with the shooting guard on Wednesday, after he spent a couple of turbulent seasons with the team.
Two summers ago, the Indiana Pacers were gung-ho about signing Monta Ellis. On Wednesday, they waived him.
After one decent season, a really bad last season and an impending suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug program, the Pacers cut ties with Ellis, who was slated to make $11.2 million next season.
It was a much different time for the Pacers when Ellis was signed, as he was slated to start next to George Hill and be a lead guard on an uptempo team. After an average first season, the Pacers dealt Hill for the more ball-dominant Jeff Teague.
Ellis averaged 8.5 points per game in 2016–17, his lowest since his rookie season. He saw his role diminish with the addition of Teague, Thaddeus Young and an increased role for second-year big man Myles Turner.
In a league leaning toward 3-and-D wings, Ellis gave the Pacers neither. The team found a gem in Glenn Robinson III, and C.J. Miles was more of the 3-and-D wing the Pacers needed. Late-season addition Lance Stephenson also added a much-needed defensive toughness and secondary playmaking. By season’s end, Ellis found himself below them all on the depth chart.
As a scoring specialist who was the fifth option, his lackluster defense and inability to stretch the floor turned him into a weak link for the Pacers. His highlight of last season was being the person who primarily defended Klay Thompson during his 60-point outburst in November.
The suspension for violating the drug policy might have been the straw that broke the camel’s back for the Pacers. That, on top of a reputation for being moody, and a skill-set that the NBA is moving away from, signals that the end may be near for Ellis’ NBA career.
Ellis had two seasons left on his contract, although only next season was guaranteed. The Pacers interestingly (and probably incorrectly) chose to use the stretch provision on Ellis, meaning his $11.2 million will be spread out over the next five years.
By utilizing the stretch provision, the Pacers sacrificed long-term cap space for cap space now, giving them about $22 million to use this offseason.
The use of the stretch provision is interesting because the Pacers will be paying Ellis until 2022. For a rebuilding franchise with no real hope next season, why not just rip the band-aid off completely, instead of choosing to have him on the books for five years?
Eating the remainder of Ellis’ deal in one setting would’ve made complete sense. Owing millions to a player who will be out of the league by 2022 makes very little sense. It’s a small percentage of cap space (a little more than two percent each season), but it’s cap space they could’ve just paid out during the first year of what will likely be a long rebuild.
The use of the stretch provision would lead one to believe the Pacers needed cap space to make some upcoming moves. What the Pacers do with the newfound cap space will determine whether or not using the stretch provision is the right move.
Like the Paul George trade last week, waiving Ellis marks the second move President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard made to clean up previous front office mistakes. Only time will tell if Pritchard is helping, or making the mess worse.
