When the Warriors suspended Monta Ellis 30 games for getting injured on that moped, I was in the minority in thinking that they did the right thing. They had to do something, and it seemed reasonable to me that they wouldn't want to pay a player while he's recovering from an injury that occurred while he was doing something that was expressly forbidden in the language of his contract. But the latest talk from the team about keeping their options open to void the six-year, $66M deal they signed Ellis to over the summer is just plain stupid.
The Warriors are retaining the option to extend the 30-game suspension of guard Monta Ellis, possibly all the way to voiding the six-year, $66 million deal he signed in July. Golden State would only throw that switch if Ellis struggles mightily to recover from an ankle injury that is now expected to sideline him until December or January, and even then would be a tough call, probably in summer 2009 at the earliest. ... It's just that the W's don't want to be on the hook for $66 mil for damaged goods, since Ellis violated the contract by riding a moped and then lied to management by claiming he got hurt in a pickup game.
Now, it goes without saying that if for some reason this ankle injury causes Ellis to lose all of his basketball ability, or, you know, the injury spreads somehow and he has to have his entire leg amputated or something, then OF COURSE the team would void the deal. So why even say it?
All the club is doing by floating this out there is creating some sour feelings between themselves and their superstar of the future. And the odds of them actually doing this get even longer, when you consider the fact that if they did so, Ellis would be an unrestricted free agent ... who at that point would undoubtedly sign with any other team in the league but the Warriors
The reality of this is, it's an ankle injury. It's not a knee. The kid's 22. He'll be fine. Of course the franchise has the right to void the deal if something goes wrong. But there's absolutely nothing to be gained for them to say so publicly.
[viaTSB]
