Monta Ellis Nearing His Return to the Court

Monta Ellis did his first drill since the accident. The practice was an odd man fast breaking drill. Here are a few quotes from Don Nelson on Monta Ellis:

“Way better than I thought he would be,” Warriors coach Don Nelson said. “He’s an amazing athlete.”

“It’s probably the lightest thing that we do, and that’s why we had him participate,” Nelson said. “It’s not a practice. It’s very little contact, but it is some defenders out there.”

Monta Ellis will probably return to the court in the middle of February. When he returns, the Golden State Warriors will have a glut of guards on the roster. Because of that problem, Jamal Crawford has given some thought to exercising his early termination option. I can understand why he would. His touches would significantly diminish when Monta Ellis returns. The Warriors already have Marco Belinelli, Kelenna Azubuike, and Anthony Morrow. You add the possibility of Corey Maggette and Stephen Jackson being able to score 20 points a night and play Crawford position, then it is understandable why Crawford would have reservations about staying in Golden State. The other wildcard in the discussion is Don Nelson. Nelson's commitment to the players and organization has been questioned all season.

Is there any team out there that needs a bonafide scorer who doesn't play a lick of defense? I can't think any team right now. Maybe the Dallas Mavericks could use his scoring for their bench. Would the Warriors trade Crawford for Jerry Stackhouse and possibly Brandon Bass? The Mavericks would probably say no to that trade because Brandon Bass is a good young player who has blossomed since becoming a Maverick.