Interesting note from Jon Saraceno in Monday’s edition of USA Today: Jeff Fried, Monta Ellis’ agent, is talking as though he’s going to appeal the Warriors’ 30-game suspension of his client in response to Ellis’ serious ankle injury suffered while participating in an activity — driving a moped — expressly prohibited under the terms of his new six-year, $66 million contract.

“We’ve previously evaluated Monta’s options, and now that the team has taken a definitive position we will move aggressively in protecting Monta’s rights,” Fried is quoted as saying.

From this vantage point, it’s hard to see where Fried thinks he’s going to find something to dispute. Section 12 of the NBA’s Uniform Player Contract is eminently clear. I won’t reprint the whole section, but here’s the most critical sentence, in all its clause-stuffed glory (bolding adding by yours truly):

“Accordingly, the Player agrees that he will not, without the written consent of the Team, engage in any activity that a reasonable person would recognize as involving or exposing the participant to a substantial risk of bodily injury including, but not limited to: (i) sky-diving, hang gliding, snow skiing, rock or mountain climbing (as distinguished from hiking), rappelling, and bungee jumping; (ii) any fighting, boxing, or wrestling; (iii) driving or riding on a motorcycle or moped; (iv) riding in or on any motorized vehicle in any kind of race of racing contest; (v) operating an aircraft of any kind; (vi) engaging in any other activity excluded or prohibited by or under any insurance policy which the Team procures against the injury, illness or disability to or of the Player, or death of the Player, for which the Player has received written notice from the Team prior to the execution of this Contract; or (vii) participating in any game or exhibition of basketball, football, baseball, hockey, lacrosse, or other team sport or competition.”

The next sentence spells out the consequences:

“If the Player violates this Paragraph 12, he shall be subject to discipline imposed by the Team and/or the Commissioner of the NBA.”

That sure seems pretty cut-and-dried, no?

The one area where I could envision Fried making some headway is claiming that the suspension runs so long that Monta might be healthy, ready to go yet stuck on the sidelines prior to Dec. 19.

Let’s figure the best-case scenario: Ellis underwent surgery on Aug. 27. At that point, the team said he needed six weeks’ worth of immobilization…

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…