Guard Monta Ellis won’t return to Dallas Mavericks

A shift in the future of the Dallas Mavericks occurred Wednesday when shooting guard Monta Ellis decided to opt-out of the final year of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent.

More important, the Mavericks have decided they will not attempt to re-sign Ellis, according to a source with knowledge of the situation.

Ellis was slated to earn $8.7 million next season in the last year of a three-year, $25 million contract he signed with the Mavericks in the summer of 2013.

The Mavericks, however, signed Chandler Parsons to a three-year, $46 million deal last summer, and sources close to Ellis believe he feels he’s worth at least that if not more, and that’s why he wanted to test the free-agent market.

“He was our leading scorer last year, so he had two incredible years,” forward Dirk Nowitzki told reporters Wednesday. “So we’ll see what free agency brings for him and for us, and it’s going to be an exciting period.”

Ellis led the Mavs in scoring (18.9) and steals (1.9) this past season, and was the team’s No. 1 go-to player. He also shot 44.5 percent from the field and 28.5 percent from 3-point range.

By exercising his option and opting out of his contract, Ellis believes he can obtain a contract more in line with the contributions he’s made on the court.

Ellis was the Mavericks’ quasi-point guard at times last season, especially in the fourth quarter. Under that alignment, Parsons was reduced to more of a spot-up shooter at small forward.

The Mavericks, however, would like to see the ball in Parsons’ hands more and have him initiate the offense as a point forward. By parting ways with Ellis, that plan should come to fruition.

As far as Ellis’ moodiness, which the Mavericks didn’t care for, a source said: “It’s hurting him more than anybody.”

Ellis’ departure gives the Mavericks more than $30 million to spend in free agency, along with their $2.8 million exception. They can apply those funds in their bid to re-sign free agent center Tyson Chandler and in their pursuit of Portland Trail Blazers free agent power forward LaMarcus Aldridge to put on the frontline with Parsons.

Free-agent shooting guards Danny Green of San Antonio and Wesley Matthews of Portland are two of the players the Mavericks plan to pursue to fill the spot held by Ellis the past two seasons.

Matthews suffered a season-ending Achilles injury on March 5 in a game against the Mavericks.

“I’ve been hearing Wesley Matthews [going to the Mavs] a lot, but an Achilles injury is hard to come back from,” the source said. “I’m not saying he can’t, but I don’t know.”

This story was originally published June 24, 2015 at 11:41 AM with the headline "Guard Monta Ellis won’t return to Dallas Mavericks."