Monta Ellis is having a tough time on the free agent market so far and since he has yet to receive the deal he was looking for, the former Bucks star has parted ways with his agent and is looking at four teams in the Kings, Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks and Bobcats.
According to ESPN.com, Ellis decided to part ways with his agent Jeff Fried on Wednesday after being frustrated on the free agent market and now he is looking for a new contract after opting out of the six-year, $66 million deal he was on when he was traded to the Bucks. Ellis said that he was hoping to have a deal in place within two days, but that may take longer now that he fired his agent.
Ellis looks like he made a mistake in rejecting the three-year, $33 million extension by the Bucks last summer as well as opting out of his a guaranteed $11 million in 2013-14 and now he will look to those four main teams to get the deal he wants. Ellis is a natural shooter and averaged 19.2 points and 6.0 assists for Milwaukee last season and he remains the top offensive option on the free agent market and he said that he hopes to make around $40 million on his next deal.
The Kings have been interested in Ellis and after previously making an offer, the team is putting Jimmer Fredette and Chuck Hayes on the trading block to clear space for him while also looking into a possible deal for Marcus Thornton. The teams he wants to go to will have to make moves to get him in under the cap and the Bobcats started that already by waiving Tyrus Thomas and now they are looking into sign and trade deals with Gerald Henderson. The team just signed Al Jefferson and getting Ellis would be huge as well.
The Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, Sacramento Kings and Charlotte Bobcats are the favorites to get Ellis and while the Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers would like to sign him, they just can't fit him. The Mavericks lost out on Andrew Bynum and Dwight Howard and may want Ellis, while the Hawks signed Paul Millsap after missing out on Howard as well.