The Golden State Warriors suspended Monta Ellis for 30 games without pay Saturday for violating his new contract by getting into a mo-ped accident.
Ellis hurt his ankle in August, and told Chris Mullin (the Warriors' top basketball executive) that he hurt himself playing pickup ball back in Mississippi, but manned about the incident several days later.
It was widely speculated that the Warriors would not punish Ellis severly, if at all. Mullin even went as far as to say that the incident "was no big deal".
Warriors president Robert Rowell didn't see it that way. He went over the heads of Mullin and head coach Don Nelson by handing down the suspension. To be honest, Rowell can even void out the contract Ellis signed because he hurt himself outside of basketball, i.e. the Jason Williams clause.
Look for things in the Warriors family to heat up over this incident. It's no secret that there is a rift between the Mullin-Nelson connection and the upper brass.
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