Monta Ellis Damned by #NBARank?

With #NBARank right on the cusp of announcing the top 120 players in the NBA (last Friday Vince Carter was announced as being ranked 121^st ), now is as a good time as any to review the Warriors players that have already been disclosed. Have a look below (listed by rank):

152. Dorell Wright

174. Andris Biedrins

246. Al Thornton

257. Lou Amundson

283. Reggie Williams

300. Ekpe Udoh

315. Vladimir Radmanovic

341. Charlie Bell

349. Klay Thompson

441. Jeremy Tyler

448. Charles Jenkins

467. Jeremy Lin

Given where some of these players were ranked, one wonders how much better the Warriors will be going into next season under new head coach Mark Jackson.

With that said, which Warriors player will be named next in #NBARank? Two of the five Golden State starters have already been listed; thus we are now down to (in no particular order) Stephen Curry, Monta Ellis and David Lee.

I would venture and say that David Lee will be named next but the real debate will come down to the backcourt. With everyone having an opinion on whether Ellis should be traded or not, #NBARank will probably only add fuel to the fire one way or another.

If Stephen Curry is deemed to be the better player, several will argue that Ellis’ contract makes no sense and thus that the shooting guard should be traded for the sake of acquiring a talented player that fits more within the framework of what the Dubs need to do to become a successful basketball club.

In the event that Monta Ellis is chosen as the best player on the team, the focus will probably shift on which player(s) Golden State can acquire that is relatively of equal value in #NBARank.

So far that list includes big names such as Vince Carter, Richard Hamilton and Mo Williams who are respectively ranked 121^st, 126^th and 127^th in #NBARank. Mind you, these players are all older and less productive than Ellis.

However, as we climb atop the list, some more interesting names are bound to pop up, such as Andre Iguodala, Josh Smith, Rudy Gay, Joe Johnson and Kevin Martin to name a few; which will only create more speculation with respect to potential Monta trade scenarios.

Needless to say, by the time all the players are announced, Monta Ellis might not be the biggest fan of #NBARank given the reactions that will stem from it from fans, the media and possibly his posse (if you have ever watched Entourage, you know how powerful that can potentially be).

Nonetheless, with the lockout still in effect, this is quite possibly the most excitement we can draw up from discussing the NBA, and right now the Monta Ellis countdown is on…

Questions or comments? Feel free to leave them in the comments section or you can contact me by email at [email protected]. You can also find me on Twitter with the handle name @ShyneIV.