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ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports that the Sacramento Kings are involved in the bidding for free agent guard Monta Ellis. (Shout out to zzbolt for the FanShot.) Stein reports that the Kings are trying to ship Chuck Hayes and Jimmer Fredette to the Cleveland Cavaliers to open up enough space to "sign Ellis comfortably," whatever that means. Monta opted out of an $11 million contract for 2013-14.
If I were asked to describe Ellis relative to a current King, I would call him a worse, more aggressive Marcus Thornton who can pass but has less interest in playing defense.
I am not a fan of Ellis in any form, no matter how else the Kings roster changes. It's not an issue of Ellis replicating Thornton, necessarily -- it's an issue of Ellis being a player that hasn't traditionally helped his team. His career True Shooting percentage is .526, and he averages about 19 shooting possessions per 36 minutes. That's Monta Ellis. That's terrifying at the pay rate Ellis is likely to command.
The Hawks are also pursuing Ellis, and may have a sign-and-trade with the Bucks in play that would send Jeff Teague to Milwaukee. Stein isn't convinced Cleveland will take on Hayes because he cuts into future salary cap space; a trade of Hayes and Jimmer for nothing would open up an additional $8.1 million in cap space, giving the Kings $14 million remaining.