Andre Iguodala is a very talented, well-rounded basketball player. Monta Ellis is good at one thing: scoring. The less-informed have wanted him on the Sixers for some time. Well, here it is from the worldwide leader...
The Sixers, meanwhile, would be getting an electric scoring guard in the 6-foot-3, 185-pound Ellis, create an opening at small forward for rookie Evan Turner, and slice some money off their payroll. Ellis is owed $11 million for each of the next three seasons. Iguodala makes $13.5 million next season and the contract increases by $1.2 million each of the next two years. Their current salaries are close enough that the swap could be made without any other additional considerations and meet league salary-cap rules.
Ric Bucher is reporting that his sources are solid on both sides but that a deal is not imminent. Though it would work as a 1-for-1 swap, I'd have a really tough time digesting any food for a long time if Louis Williams is not sent to Golden State in the deal with the Sixers getting back a big guy like Ekpe Udoh in return. Here's how it would look.
Ellis can really score the basketball, a trait that this team sorely lacks. But with an effective field goal percentage of 49.3%, he doesn't do it particularly efficiently. And if we all remember our lesson in usage rates with Lou, we'll recall that a 28.1% usage rate is one of the highest in the league. It's tough to compare stats in a system like GSW but that's more than The Boss himself, quite the admirable feat. His win shares per 48 minutes would have been 8th on the Sixers this season, just a notch above the incomparable Tony Battie.
Monta is also a terrible defender, and with a wingspan smaller than his height, it'd be tough for he and Jrue Holiday to match up against most backcourts in the league. The small forward void would open up a spot for ET in the starting lineup, but the cost of losing one of the most efficient wings in the league for possibly the highest-volume shooter this side of Turkish Allen Iverson may be too high. The market for Andre is relatively slim and though there's not any rush to make a deal, this may just be the best package available for him. At least it's better than Hedo.
What do you think? Is this a move the Sixers should pull the trigger on? It significantly improves the Warriors because a Stephen Curry/Andre/Dorell Wright threesome is pretty nice, but does it do the same for the identity-devoid Sixers? What if the 11th pick in the draft was involved? With Mark Jackson announced as new Warriors coach, will he diagram a play called "Momma there goes that man"? And finally, could a Lou Williams/Monta Ellis backcourt be the funniest thing to hit the basketball court since Rick Mahorn and Charles Barkley?