Monta Ellis didn't endear himself to Mavericks fans
— -- Never has there been more apathy for a dude who has averaged 19.0 points over two seasons than how much Dallas-Fort Worth has for Mavericks guard Monta Ellis.
We got word Wednesday that Ellis will opt out of the final year of his contract -- which is supposed to pay him $8.72 million -- and become a free agent, likely ending his days in Dallas.
The thing is, y'all don't seem to care -- not even a little bit.
Dirk Nowitzki is a superstar in every sense of the word and has been for nearly 15 years, which is why a quality player such as Ellis doesn't excite us all that much.
In a lot of ways, the 29-year-old shooting guard has a lot of the attributes every coach wants.
He plays through injuries and takes charges. He attacks the basket relentlessly, and he's certainly not afraid to take the last shot.
He led the Mavs and finished 11th in the league in scoring. Mavs owner Mark Cuban, general manager Donnie Nelson and coach Rick Carlisle have zero idea how they're going to replace his production.
But Ellis is also petulant, and when he feels slighted -- whether it's real or perceived -- he'll drift into a mental funk accompanied by the worst body language.
We all know Ellis isn't going to be happy without a lucrative long-term deal -- we're talking more than Chandler Parsons' deal that averages $15 million per season -- and the Mavs would be foolish to get into the bidding for him if that's his price tag.
He's not worth it. Heck, Parsons isn't worth it, but that's what the Mavs had to spend to acquire him because they needed to outbid the Houston Rockets for his services. Ellis' game revolves around speed. He turns 30 in October. How will Ellis' game translate as he ages and younger, faster players enter the league?
When he loses a step, will his game follow? It's not as if Ellis is going to hang around the perimeter and shoot jumpers.
Watching Ellis is why you can't rely solely on stats to determine a player's worth, no matter how much folks who study analytics want you to do it. Ellis is a conundrum because he had the ball in his hands much of the time and the Mavs ran their offense through him.
Though it's good he averaged 18.9 points last season and made 48.7 percent of his 2-point attempts in playing 80 games and finishing fifth with 148 steals, that doesn't tell his entire story.
Only four players took more shots than Ellis, but he didn't finish among the top 20 in free throw attempts despite his repeated drives to the basket. He also finished tied for 95th in player efficiency (16.59), one spot ahead of San Antonio's Danny Green and one spot behind Oklahoma City's Serge Ibaka.
For what it's worth, among the Mavs' key players, he finished behind Amar'e Stoudemire (20.40), Tyson Chandler (20.12) and Dirk (19.26) in efficiency.
More important, the Mavs don't want Ellis to be their best player, their highest-paid player and their face-of-the-franchise after Dirk retires.
He doesn't have the temperament to do it any more than Ian Kinsler had it when the Texas Rangers wanted him to replace Michael Young as "the man."
Ellis wants all of the accouterments of being "the man" without any of the off-the-court responsibilities. Pro sports doesn't really work that way.
It's not just about talking to the media regularly -- win or lose, good game or bad game -- it's about not being self-absorbed. Dirk is among the best we've ever had in Dallas-Fort Worth about accepting the responsibility that accompanies every team's star.
Mike Modano and Brendan Morrow did it for the Stars, and Jamie Benn is doing it now. Adrian Beltre has grudgingly accepted that role along with Prince Fielder and Elvis Andrus for the Rangers.
Tony Romo, Jason Witten and Dez Bryant take that responsibility with the Cowboys.
Ellis hasn't and he won't, which is his right. But it's also among the reasons folks don't seem to care that he opted out.
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