Warriors Give Ellis Biggest Pay Raise Ever

Hey, welcome back to America, where we discuss players who matter. The Golden State Warriors, who I'm positing these days as America's weirdest team, have inked Monta Ellis to a mighty extension. From The Contra Costa Time:

The Warriors locked up restricted free-agent guard Monta Ellis with a six-year deal worth $66 million, according to an NBA insider. However, Golden State could be in danger of losing Andris Biedrins, their remaining restricted free agent.

I saw somewhere that this is the biggest raise ever, just squeezing out Arenas' first Wizards deal. (About that Biedrins trouble ... see prior post.)

What remains to be seen is how much Ellis can handle the point, or whether he needs Stephen Jackson doing a lot of the ball-handling. Or, and this might be even worse, starting new guy Marcus Williams and putting Monta at shooting guard. Regardless, Ellis a phenomenal talent who has already shown himself able to overcome much of the inherent crappiness of the combo guard lifestyle, which is always rare and inspirational. Not to state the obvious, but Ellis is this team's de facto franchise player, and they simply couldn't afford to lose them. It's good for Golden State that this off-season wasn't exactly flush with other opportunities.

And while we're on the subject of the Warriors, I'm all for Biedrins leaving and Nellie being forced to play Randolph and Brandan Wright. Since having two potential-laden springy big men on the bench is such an awful position to be in. Maybe I am just stuck in 2004. Good thing history moves in circles, and one day, I will be vindicated.

This post originally appeared on the Sporting Blog. For more, see The Sporting Blog Archives.