» Blog Archive » Rowell defends decision on Ellis
  • Oct
    11

    Rowell defends decision on Ellis

    By Geoff Lepper
    48minutes.net

    OAKLAND — Warriors guard Monta Ellis will go down in history as having taken the most expensive moped ride in history.

    Golden State finally dropped the hammer on its franchise player Saturday, announcing a 30-game suspension that essentially translates into a $2.97 million fine in response to the left ankle injury Ellis suffered while crashing his 250cc moped on Aug. 21, an incident that violated the terms of the six-year, $66 million deal he had signed mere weeks earlier.

    “We made a commitment to Monta for $66 million to be a great basketball player,” said team president Robert Rowell, who arrived at the 30-game figure with owner Chris Cohan after discussions with Jeff Fried, Ellis’ agent. “We’re in a situation where he is now not with us. We’re going to do everything possible that we can obviously to get him back and to help him rehab and get back on the basketball floor, but right now we felt that it was an appropriate consequence.”

    The decision means the team is certain Ellis, who suffered a high ankle sprain and a torn deltoid ligament that required surgery to repair, won’t be healthy until after Dec. 17, when the suspension expires. When the injury was announced in late August, the team said that Ellis would need six weeks’ worth of immobilization, which just recently ended, and six more weeks of off-court rehab before a potential timetable for a return could be established.

    However, one facet of the recovery plan has yet to be publicized: Multiple team sources confirmed Saturday that Ellis will eventually have to undergo another surgery to remove screws that are currently holding the ligament in place, something that will require additional recovery time.

    Rowell claimed the team never considered voiding Ellis’ deal — as was reported by multiple media outlets in the wake of Ellis’ failed attempt to originally cover up the true nature of his injury — but said an indefinite suspension was discussed. That option was scrapped for fear it would encourage Ellis to come back before getting fully healthy, leading to the potential of further damage, possibly permanent.

    “We could have done an indefinite suspension, and what would that have done?” Rowell said. “Then he would have put himself in a situation where he would have rushed back and all he would have been worried about is the money and getting paid, and then we could have a player that is screwed up forever. You could have a guy who never recovers.”

    It’s unknown how Ellis reacted to the decision. The 22-year-old did not attend the Warriors’ 122-102 exhibition victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday, and attempts to reach Fried were unsuccessful.

    “I’m hoping that (Ellis) is professional and understands that we’re not doing this to punish him,” Rowell said. “This is being done because he violated his contract. And when I say punish him, it’s not vindictive at all. It’s not personal. This is a business decision that we made.”

    Rowell acknowledged that the decision was made against the advice of Chris Mullin, the Warriors’ executive vice president and head of basketball operations. A team source said that Mullin was looking at the situation like “more of a father,” wanting to fine Ellis enough to set a boundary and prevent any future similar incidents, but not so much that it would be excessively punitive.

    To put it mildly, Rowell disagreed.

    “Chris Mullin made it perfectly clear to both Mr. Cohan and myself that he didn’t think this was a big deal at the beginning,” Rowell said. “And we happen to think it’s a very big deal. We happen to think that it’s a big deal for our fans, it’s a big deal for our season ticket-holders, it’s a big deal for our business partners, it’s a big deal for the Warriors organization.”

    There was no hue and cry from Ellis’ teammates.

    “I know he’s happy to get that behind him,” Warriors forward Al Harrington said. “It was never an issue for the team. We never discussed it as a team. Nobody was in here worried about it. We knew something was going to happen, but at the end of the day, I feel like it’s fair. He’s able to keep his contract. And like I said before, he’s got $63 (million) more.”

    That may not necessarily be the case. Rowell said repeatedly that the team has reserved its right to revisit the contract if Ellis, whose quickness made him the NBA’s Most Improved Player in 2006-07 and led to his averaging 20.2 points per game on 53.1 percent shooting last season, can’t regain that form.

    But Rowell admitted that, outside of the precedent set by Jay Williams — the Chicago Bulls guard who mangled his left leg in a 2003 motorcycle crash after his rookie season and never returned to the NBA, eventually settling on a $3 million buyout on a deal that still owed him roughly $11 million) — the team is in “uncharted waters” if Ellis is no longer the dynamic slasher he once was.

    “I’ve given so little thought to that that I don’t even know if I can give you a real intelligent answer, other than preserving our rights and reserving our rights, which we have,” Rowell said. “We’ve asserted that. As far as how it gets done . . . Nobody wants that scenario to happen. If it happens, you’ve got to deal with it.”

    With regards to the cash windfall, Rowell said the Warriors will be giving the $2.97 million back to current season-ticket holders who renew their seats for 2009-10: “The amount will be reflected in next year’s season-ticket holder pricing.”

51 Responses to “Rowell defends decision on Ellis”

  1. Rasheed October 11th, 2008 at 11:09 pm

    Nice Work Geoff….Monta should just sit out the year if the team is off to a bad start, brandon jennings and Monta FTMFW!!!

  2. Bob October 11th, 2008 at 11:28 pm

    Another surgery? Do they mean this year? Or down the line? If its this year, why not just declare him out for the year and apply an injury exception? A $5.5 injury exception could in handy.

  3. TheCity October 11th, 2008 at 11:46 pm

    Even if he can’t help the team much this year, if he’s ready then it will be good for him to get some games under his belt.

  4. joe October 12th, 2008 at 3:39 am

    Bulls #2 pick overall Jay Williams invalidated his contract when he rode the motorcycle and crashed.

    The Bulls paying him 3 M out of 11 wasn’t a buyout, it was a gift. There was doubt he walk again. Jay was publicly grateful for how he was treated and that he saw any money at all.

    Ellis may recover but there’s a chance he could not be the player he once was. The GSW fined him to take this injury serious from day one and keep their options open if Ellis can’t play at the level of his contract.

    Losing Jay Williams really set the Bulls back. In a league that changed rules to emphasize perimeter and point guard play, the later Bulls went after Hinrick #7 and now Rose #1. They didn’t have any cap hit.

    If Monta Ellis doesn’t fully recover AND GSW have to honor his 66 M contract, the franchise will be set back for the next decade.

  5. Rob October 12th, 2008 at 8:07 am

    Good stuff .. .thanks!

  6. Geoff Lepper October 12th, 2008 at 2:10 pm

    Thanks, ‘Sheed.

    Bob: From what I understand, he will need surgery to remove hardware from the ankle before he gets back on the court. Now, I don’t know how long he’ll have to recover from that. It could be just a few days to let the incision heal. Or it could be weeks. It’s one of the things I’d like to ask Monta, whenever he addresses the media.

    As for an injury exception, you have to demonstrate that a player has no chance of getting healthy that season, and I don’t think that’s the case here. The low end of the W’s timetable would put Ellis back on the court around Jan. 1, if things go well. It’s hard to turn around and claim to the NBA that he’ll be out until late April.

    Joe: Rowell made it very, very clear — if Monta doesn’t fully recover, the Warriors will not pay out the remainder of his deal. The question will become whether or not that’s enforceable.

    – Geoff

  7. Mylie10 October 12th, 2008 at 6:45 pm

    Rowell stated that Jackson will probably be extended and made the mistake of saying that Jackson is the teams best player.

    Best player to Stephen Jackson means 11+ million per year.

    I like Jax but don’t think he’s worth that. What do you think?

    also feel that Rowell has reserved the right to void Monta in the future if he can’t get back to a “skilled basketball level”. What are your thoughts on both.

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