Warriors GM Riley: Ellis not likely to be traded

Monta Ellis’ name has been in trade rumors for the past several weeks, but according to Sports Illustrated’s Sam Amick, Warriors general manager Larry Riley said that Warrior fans shouldn’t expect an Ellis deal to happen anytime soon:

Riley reiterated that he’s not shopping Ellis: “It’s very likely that he will not be traded on draft night or even through the summer.”

Riley also said something that may indicate that Ellis will be staying in Golden State because of a lack of demand rather than the Warriors’ lack of desire to move their 25-year old combo guard:

Riley also said the trade calls for Stephen Curry far outweigh those for Ellis: “Nobody is saying,'What will it take to get Monta Ellis?’”

Ellis is an ultra-talented scorer, but he doesn’t have a true position, his defense is suspect at best, he seems to have gotten used to shooting the ball 20 times a night, and he’s owed $11 million a year through the 2013/14 season. Considering that the Warriors have had two consecutive bad seasons with Ellis as their featured scorer, it shouldn’t come as a great surprise that teams aren’t lining up to try and trade for Ellis, despite his ability to put up big scoring numbers.