Coach Mark Jackson is dead right about this. The Warriors did become a better team after Monta Ellis left. And it is not so much on the court, it is in the locker room as well. Ellis has never been known as a good teammate. He is more of a “me first” type of player who looks to shoot before pass and doesn’t play defense. But it is his personality more that coach is referring to. See what he means after the jump.
@IamJOE357
The trade that sent Ellis to the Bucks last year for Andrew Bogut helped the Warriors on the court in many ways. It spread the ball around more, allowed Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to emerge as the incredible shooters they are, and with Bogut playing big down low, it gave the team another reliable player. But off the court the trade was even bigger. Jackson was asked how he felt about the trade.
“It helped change the culture. Obviously it was easier to pull the trigger because we knew what we had in Klay and it was time for him to be a starting two-guard. And he does everything right.”
How did that trade change the culture?
Jackson paused four seconds.
“It helped change the culture,” he finally said.
Anything specific?
“You know.”
In other words, Ellis was not a good guy to have around, and now team chemistry is at an all time high and its more like a family. It’s not a good week for Ells. Reports came out yesterday that Larry Sanders called him out after they lost to the Heat.
