Le Basketbawl

The story of how Golden State Warriors guard Monta Ellis injured himself which led to surgery last week on his left ankle could be a lot more complicated than appeared last week. “ESPN.com” reported Wednesday that their sources in the Association have expressed doubt as to whether Ellis actually hurt himself in a pick-up game. The “Contra Costa Times” earlier this week said that Golden State is not convinced that Ellis’ explanation makes sense given the extent of the injuries he suffered.

According to the reports, Ellis suffered some nasty scrapes and bruises to his upper left leg, that did not appear to come from an accident on the hardwood. If it turns out that Ellis hurt himself in a non-basketball accident, he could be in for some trouble. Ellis as all NBA players have stipulations in their contract of what and what they are allowed to do. If Ellis was found to have injured himself in a way that was banned in his contract, his deal that he signed earlier this off-season. Ellis reportedly received a six year contract estimated to be worth $66 million.

Ellis who is not expected to be ready until December, was expected to fill the role of departed starting point guard Baron Davis this coming season. This injury to say the least has the Warriors brain-trust scrambling for solutions. Ellis was going to use training camp to get better acclimated to being a point, after being primarily a shooting guard in the Association. Golden State is expected to start the season at this juncture with Marcus Williams getting the bulk of the minutes at point. Golden State General Manager Chris Mullin told reporters that they believe that Ellis will contribute this season but with ankle injuries, setting a timetable can be tricky. Neither Ellis or his agent have spoken with reporters.