Monta Ellis’ List of 4 Teams Equals Cash; Dallas Mavericks Best Fit for Free Agent


Monta Ellis is arguably the biggest name left on the NBA free agent market and he has reportedly narrowed his list of teams to four. The Atlanta Hawks, Sacramento Kings, Dallas Mavericks and Charlotte Bobcats are all still in the running for the talented free agent guard’s services.

Of course, neither of those teams are contenders, so Ellis is clearly looking for cash instead of a chance to win a ring. The Hawks and Mavs can each offer Ellis a max deal, which is what he’s seeking since he turned down a three-year, $36 million contract extension from the Milwaukee Bucks.

The Mavs are all-in to land both Andrew Bynum and Ellis this offseason, so if Dallas can pay both players what they want, that could be an interesting Big Three with Dirk Nowitzki. The Mavericks have whiffed at every big-name free agent to come along in the past four years, so Dallas is desperate to land anyone to pair with Dirk at this point. But if Bynum, Ellis and Nowitzki all took the floor together in Big D, the Mavs could make a surprise playoff run.

All the rest of the landing spots would be the Monta Ellis Show as the highly-paid guard wouldn’t have much help. But as Josh Smith already showed us this offseason, money talks.