This isn’t the first time the Atlanta Hawks and Monta Ellis have been connected. No, that would be way back when Ellis was still a member of the Golden State Warriors. The Hawks eventually got Jamal Crawford from them and Ellis went elsewhere. Times have changed though, and Hawks could finally get their man some five or six years later.

Hearing that the Hawks are expected to be in the mix for Monta Ellis.

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— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) June 30, 2015

That being said, many have suggested that this may not exactly be the right fit for Ellis or the Hawks. I’m here to say that could not be further from the truth. There is just one caveat to this plan. He needs to be willing to come off of the bench.

Most people will question who would start ahead of him on this Hawks team, because if Ellis comes in that means DeMarre Carroll is most certainly not coming back. That leaves the Hawks with Thabo Sefolosha, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Kent Bazemore at that position. The guy I’d pick for the starting lineup would be none other than Bazemore. He made huge strides a season ago and is an above average defender when he is fully committed. 

This would be a case of bringing Ellis off the bench to basically run the second unit. As much I enjoy watching Dennis Schroder run the offense, the Hawks clearly lacked creativity with their second unit last season. With Ellis you bring in a guy who can get his shot whenever he wants. He isn’t even that bad playing off the ball either, so it doesn’t really hinder the development of the aforementioned Schroder. It just gives the Hawks another option when things break down.

All that being said, the likelihood of Ellis agreeing to a sixth man role is a long shot at best. Which is probably why there are so many questions about fit in the media right now. I feel as though the Hawks would be more than comfortable with Bazemore in the starting lineup if they had a pure scorer to bring off the bench. We’re seeing this strategy more and more in today’s game, and it seems like a natural direction for the innovative Hawks if they can get everyone on board.

If the Hawks retain Paul Millsap, add Ellis and then figure out a solution to their rebounding woes, this team could be very dangerous again in the 2015-16 NBA season.

Johnathan Neumann is the Atlanta Hawks Beat Writer for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @JJ_Neumann, or add him to your network on Google