. . . Monta Ellis . . .
I hated Ellis when I first started watching GS but he grew on me--and I think he's grown significantly as a person/player since he skipped college to play ball. He's not a great team leader but he can play defense, share the ball, and adapt to various styles/teams. Yes, he's clearly most motivated when he's da man but he's not awful when he's the second or third option. (Note that he averages about 6 assists and 4 boards.) He is very good in a running game and he can one-on-one with the best, even if he's a few inches shorter. He's learned some nice pick and roll skills and his passing, especially after/during driving is underrated. Apparently, he doesn't have have locker room cancer (or it's in remission) and despite his missteps with a rookie Curry, he seems like an pretty good teammate. That said . . . there are parts of his game, or perhaps his understanding of the game that, like Melo, are seriously underdeveloped. His off-ball work is iffy, his game flow management (and he does tend to have the ball in hands a lot) is iffy, and his understanding of things like spacing and optimizing his teammate's games are iffy. With the right coaching maybe...maybe...he'll correct those things and be able to raise the overall level of ball on his team. Or, maybe not. I have trouble seeming Ellis playing PG with Melo and I'm not sure Felton is the right PG for Ellis to be an efficient SG. Ellis's blindspots probably wouldn't be an issue for, say, Chicago because the overall basketball intelligence and the quality of coaching is quite high. On the Knicks, however, I'd guess Ellis might work out as a kind of B-team guard but I can't see him starting and, again, I could be wrong but I wouldn't bet on Melo/Felton/Ellis working out. Also, hmmmm, I'm not sure there's any realistic way to sign Ellis without a rash of retirements.
Bynum. No.
