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It was a year ago this week that Monta Ellis(notes) watched his close friend, Stephen Jackson(notes), force the Golden State Warriors to trade him. Jackson thought the Warriors were too young, too inexperienced to win, and he wanted out. Ellis wasn’t quite as vocal with his frustration, but it was clear he wasn’t happy, either. His relationship with coach Don Nelson was distant, at best. On the day he showed up for training camp, Ellis said he doubted he could play alongside the Warriors’ hotshot rookie guard, Stephen Curry(notes), because both were small.
Jackson’s departure made Ellis wonder if he would – and should – be the next player to leave the franchise. As the Warriors began to succumb to injury after injury, Ellis’ discontent grew.
He felt like a loner,” said Keith Smart, an assistant on Nelson’s staff last season.
What a difference a year makes. The Warriors now have a new coach, new ownership, a new All-Star power forward, even new uniforms. As a result, Ellis also has a new outlook on life in the Bay Area.
“Whatever happened in the past I’m trying to move on from,” Ellis said. “Everybody in the world knows the frustration that was on my face – every player on that team and in the organization. It was a tough time, but now things have changed.
“It’s all a new start.”
The biggest change has come with the evolution of Ellis’ relationship with Curry. Ellis’ comments about the pair’s incompatibility – which came on the team’s media day last season – initially kept them from becoming friends, and the tension carried over to the court, where the two would “bypass each other,” Smart said.
The two finally began to grow closer toward the end of last season after Ellis’ wife, Juanika, and Curry’s fiancee, Ayesha Alexander, became good friends. Juanika had also made it a point to tell Ellis that he was wrong in his assertion that he and Curry couldn’t play together. Ellis then picked up the entire tab for Curry’s 22nd birthday party in March. Curry also attended Ellis’ and Juanika’s wedding over the summer in Mississippi.
“I took it as a shock because that was my first exposure to him and the team,” Curry said of Ellis’ initial comments. “But then I realized he didn’t know me well, and I earned his trust with my play.”
Smart noticed Ellis and Curry had become closer when they were on the phone together during the NBA draft. They also began to complement each other better on the court.
“Steph kept trying to be friends, and then Monta finally relented,” Smart said. “Monta said, ‘You know we’re both pretty talented, and he’s pretty good. We can make it work.’ ”
While Ellis eventually bonded with Curry, his relationship with Nelson never really improved. Current and former teammates think the decision of the Warriors’ new owners to replace Nelson with Smart prior to this season has had a big impact on Ellis. Former Warriors forward Al Harrington(notes) predicted last month that Ellis would lead the NBA in scoring this season with Smart as his coach. So far, Ellis has averaged 26.5 points, second only to the 28.2 last season’s scoring champ, Kevin Durant(notes), is averaging.
Ellis wouldn’t get into specifics about the differences between Nelson and Smart except to say, “Smart calls plays for me.” The signing of All-Star forward David Lee(notes), who has given the Warriors another strong rebounder next to center Andris Biedrins(notes), also has helped.
“I’m not going to sit here and try to bash and say anything bad about [Nelson],” Ellis said. “He was a great coach. If it weren’t for playing in his system, I wouldn’t be the player that I am and had the [improvements] I had.
