[Bryan_Wilson]

http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/maver...ave-to-move-on

A few spots of note:

The Mavs continue to express confidence in Ellis as their closer -- and he does still lead the NBA in clutch points this season with 118, per NBA.com’s definition of the final five minutes of regulation or overtime with the score within five points -- but he’s been bad for almost two months now. Ellis is shooting 38.5 percent from the floor since Feb. 1.

Not coincidentally, the Mavs have been mediocre during that span with a 12-10 record.

Regardless of whether anyone will admit it on the record, Ellis is a big part of that problem. Folks in the Mavs organization have been fretting for weeks about the impact Ellis’ moodiness has on the team’s soul.

That contract was a bargain for the Mavs for Ellis’ first season and a half in Dallas. As recently as the All-Star break, it’d have been an easy decision for Dallas to re-sign Ellis with a handsome raise. Owner Mark Cuban would have gladly coughed up as much as the Mavs are allowed to give Ellis while owning only his early Bird rights.

That would mean Ellis would be paid $47 million over the first three years of his new deal -- which, of course, is $1 million more than what Chandler Parsons is making. And you better believe that matters to Ellis.

But Ellis’ value is dipping by the day. If you’re going to be high maintenance like Ellis is, you’d better be worth the headaches. Ellis sure as heck hasn’t been for the last couple of months.