NBA free agency is still a few weeks away and with a number of high profile players already hitting the market in Dwight Howard and Chris Paul, another one is set to join them as Monta Ellis will opt out of the final year of his contract with the Milwaukee Bucks.
According to ESPN.com, Ellis is becoming a free agent after opting out of his deal with one-year and $11 million left on his contract and now he rises to the top crop of the list of targets in the league. The Bucks previously offered Ellis a two-year extension worth $24 million after he had previously signed a six-year, $66 million deal with the Golden State Warriors. The Bucks wanted to keep Ellis after acquiring him in a trade from the Warriors, but he opted out to give himself the chance to sign another long-term deal in his prime years.
Ellis was the top scorer for the Bucks this season with nearly 20 points per game and he has emerged as one of the best scorers in the league after coming into the NBA in 2005. He played in all 82 games last season and averaged nearly four rebounds and six assists per game while shooting over 41 percent from the field. A number of teams fit for Ellis in free agency and some have already expressed interest, including the Lakers, Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks and other teams could join in later as the July 1 start approaches. The tough part for the Lakers would be that they need to do the deal as a sign and trade, which is unlikely at this point.
Reports from ESPN say that Ellis could team up with Dwight Howard somewhere if things don't work out with Chris Paul, as the two have said they wanted to play together someday. Howard was being mentioned in some sign and trade talks with the Lakers that started with the blockbuster Clippers and Celtics trade for Doc Rivers and Kevin Garnett that fell apart. The Clippers hoped to sign and trade for Howard while also trying to land Chris Paul, but they may go after Howard now that Ellis is also a free agent.
The Clippers still want to make deals even if the Celtics one fell apart, as they are trying to keep Paul long term and may try to swing a deal for Arron Afflalo from Orlando or Danny Granger from Indiana. While the team would have to give up pieces, they already proved willing to do that with DeAndre Jordan and draft picks in the Celtics deal.
