Hooped Up

The 1 and 3 Golden State Warriors have more problems than just being crappy right now.  Stuntman and franchise face Monta Ellis is reportedly playing chicken with the Warriors management and is daring them to void his brand new shiny $66 million dollar deal.  This is gonna end bad.

“one source indicated this week that Ellis and his representatives told the Warriors on at least one occasion recently that if the Warriors want to void the $66M deal, they should go ahead and do it and Ellis will move on with his career. The Warriors, at that time, chose not to void the deal, I’m told.”

San Jose Mercury News

Gear down on this one Monta.

Monta Ellis’ first reaction must have been “my kingdom for a moped!”, my first reaction MY DAMN!  

According to the AP, Monta Ellis was handed a 30 games suspension for finally coming clean and admitting to being in a low-speed moped accident this offseason.  If you ask me 30 games without pay is kinda much and this might make for a very unhappy Monta Ellis when he’s back in the Warriors line-up. If Ellis stuck with the “basketball related” injury tune, the Warriors would still be in the same place anyway…without Monta.  

This is over kill and the Warriors are going to have an opting out  free agent on their hands at the end of this  contract most likely. Not a great way to get along with the new face of the franchise I’m thinking.

“The Warriors cited Ellis’ violation of Paragraph 12 of the NBA’s uniform player contract, which bars a player from participating “in any activity that a reasonable person would recognize as involving or exposing the participant to a substantial risk of bodily injury,” including “driving or riding a motorcycle or moped.”

The suspension will begin immediately, including pre-season games, and run through December 17.

Spoiling all my theories on how he injured himself, it was revealed by the San Fransico Chronicle that Monta Ellis was in fact injured in a low speed moped accident.  So now it’s understandable why he would lie, road rash by Vespa isn’t exactly the coolest story to share to the world.  Aren’t all mopeds low speed anyway?  It’s like the “low speed” is thrown in to make Monta Ellis feel like more of an @ss.

Keep it rubber side down, you crazy Vespa drag racers!

Monta Ellis finally admitted what everybody already knew .  He lied.  It’s been two weeks since his injury and the damage is already done.  So where do Monta Ellis and The Warriors go from here?  

“Monta Ellis has recently informed the Warriors that he initially lied when he said he injured his ankle playing basketball, sources tell MT-2, and that he actually injured it during an outside activity.”

San Jose Mercury News

Monta Ellis is only 22 years old and until he got a huge raise just before his accident, he was the best bargain in the league. Can anybody blame him for feeling a little  scared to offer up the truth?

My 8 Possible Ways Monta Ellis Injured Himself theories are becoming more likely.

“Two experts in sports medicine consulted by ESPN.com, granted anonymity because they aren’t privy to the specifics of Ellis’ condition, said that a torn deltoid ligament is rarely seen in basketball. The deltoid ligament, the sources explained, is on the medial (big toe) side of the ankle while the structures typically involved in a high ankle sprain are on the opposite (lateral) side of the ankle. Involvement of the deltoid suggests a more serious rotational injury than those commonly associated with the NBA, the sources said.

In a conference call last week with local reporters, Warriors executive vice president of basketball operations Chris Mullin said that Ellis informed the club that he injured himself playing pickup ball, but Mullin acknowledged that the details were unclear.”

ESPN

The Golden State Warriors are not exactly buying Monta Ellis’ recount of how he tore a ligament and suffered a high ankle sprain last month.  This is the last thing the Warriors needed after signing Ellis to a huge 6-year $66 million deal. Although his repair surgery was successful, Ellis will not be able to return to the court until hopefully 2009.

Ellis claims that he injured himself in a pick up game but, the Warriors believe that it was not basketball related injury given the severity.

So while they figure that one out.  Here are 8 other fantastical ways, Monta Ellis could have possibly injured himself Hooped Up style.

8. Falling out of his tree house after checking his online banking account for the first time since signing his new deal.

7. Violently passing out after challenging Michael Phelps and Takeru Kobayashi to a pizza eating contest.

6. Skateboarding with new Facebook friend Vladimir Radmonovic.

5. Joy riding with Jay Williams, Kellen Winslow, Pat Croce, Jeff Kent and Ben Roethlisberger in motorcycle ball of death.

4. Breaking up with a jealous Tanya Harding.

3. Ghost ridin’ the whip in his old high school parking lot.

2. An unsuccessful run in the Kumite.

1. Doing his own stunts in Tron 2 acting debut.

And the bad luck keeps a rollin’ for the Golden State Warriors with the news regarding Monta Ellis.

“The Warriors got their second dose of bad news this offseason when they found out Monta Ellis will miss at least a month of the upcoming season with an ankle injury.

Nearly two months after the Warriors lost point guard Baron Davis to free agency, his heir apparent, Ellis, had surgery for a torn deltoid ligament Wednesday morning after sustaining a severe high ankle sprain working out and will be sidelined for at least three months. The Warriors open the season against New Orleans on Oct. 29.

San Francisco Chronicle

The Warriors locked up their franchise player for at least the next five years when restricted-free-agent guard Monta Ellis signed a six-year, $66 million deal. Golden State also retained restricted-free-agent swingman Kelenna Azubuike by matching the three-year, $9 million offer sheet he received from the Los Angeles Clippers. And they signed second-round draft pick Richard Hendrix, a power forward out of Alabama. 

Bay Area News Group

Ellis, 22, a restricted free agent, is starting to draw a great deal of attention in several sign-and-trade scenarios. A person with knowledge of the situation said nine teams have made inquiries about Ellis. The Miami Heat and Cleveland Cavaliers have shown the most interest. The Knicks, who are searching for point guard help, are not one of those teams, but a second source said the Knicks have been monitoring the situation. Warriors executive vice president Chris .Mullin has maintained he .intends to sign Ellis.

Knicks president Donnie Walsh and Mullin are close, so Walsh won’t act unless Mullin is ready to deal. The source said the potential of an Ellis- Jamal Crawford backcourt “would be dynamic” in the Mike D’Antoni system. Both players averaged 20 points per game this past .season. A person close to Ellis said the lightning-quick guard “would be very interested in the Knicks” and especially playing for D’Antoni.

Newsday