Rumor: Indiana Pacers May Be Looking to Move Monta Ellis
By Jared Wade
The Indiana Pacers traded George Hill for the ball-dominant Jeff Teague, raising the question of whether there is room for the new point guard and Monta Ellis in the same back court.
The Indiana Pacers, fresh off two big deals to remake their core before the draft, may be looking to shake things up even further. In a must-read opus on what we can expect as free agency begins, Zach Lowe of ESPN included this little nugget about one thing Larry Bird may be kicking around: “The Pacers would probably like to dump Monta Ellis.”
It’s a throwaway line in a long column that serves to make a point about the unpredictability of this offseason. This wasn’t a journalist going out of his way to spark rumors about Monta Ellis while making a definitive statement on Indiana’s plans. But Lowe is an incredibly well-connected reporter who doesn’t toss out nonsense speculation. If he’s saying it, there is probably someone telling him that this is one possible future for the Pacers.
And, of course, it makes perfect sense.
As soon as Bird started dealing, the new roster looked like a nice fantasy team but one that is a tad too redundant to play beautiful basketball on a real-life court.
Many Indiana Pacers fans, sick of the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Passive routine of George Hill, were elated to hear that Bird netted Jeff Teauge in return for the 30-year-old IUPUI combo guard. But it wasn’t long before most got to realizing that the team’s starting back court had just become Teague and Monta Ellis.
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Both players have talent. But, unfortunately, their talents overlap quite a bit. As do their flaws. Namely, these limitations include their defense, their need to handle the ball to be effective, and their inability to consistently hit long-range shots.
You can talk yourself into it.
Teague, a 34% shooter from 3-point range heading into 2015-16, made 110 triples last season at an impressive 40.0% clip. Maybe this isn’t a fluke? Maybe a 28-year-old NBA veteran finally learned how to shoot?
And couldn’t Paul George’s efficiency be aided by dribbling a bit less? What if he handles it less and takes more catch-and-shoot jumpers? That would even allow him to expend more energy on defense to become even more stalwart on the other end, right?
Perhaps a three-man perimeter combo of Teague, Ellis, and PG could really work?
Talent trumps fit, right?
Regardless of your ability to think that a back court of Teauge and Ellis could anchor a good offense, the defensive side of the ball is clearly an issue. Neither Teague nor Ellis can stand toe to toe with the league’s best guard. So a flawed offensive duo that doesn’t complement each other would have to do even better to make up for all the easy buckets they give up on the other end.
There is one other obvious solution: Monta Ellis can come off the bench.
Can he? Maybe if the Pacers sign a Courtney Lee type. Or perhaps even throw C.J. Miles into the starting spot and let Monta be the super sixth man. That would allow Teague and Ellis to both be themselves in roles where they don’t have to overlap.
How will Monta Ellis take that? He really wants to back up someone he is better than? Perhaps he’s willing. Perhaps it could lead to some issues.
That’s why, as nice as having three players like Jeff Teague, Monta Ellis, and Paul George is in theory, it also causes some problems in practice.
If he has to, Nate McMillan can probably figure something out. You can begin the year with all three starting. Then, if things are rocky, you present the obvious need for a shakeup. It’s not ideal, but it can probably work just fine.
Then again, heading off the obvious problem now by moving Monta and signing someone who, even if not as skilled, fits better, is one route that Larry Bird has to be considering.
If he can move Ellis in this tumultuous offseason, that will be one way to give a new coach a good chance to start the season trying to build something rather than trying to shove a square peg into a round hole.