Warriors' Ellis was hurt in moped accident
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Janny Hu, Chronicle Staff Writer
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Monta Ellis was riding a moped when he severely injured his left ankle last month in his native Jackson, Miss., sources close to the Warriors guard told The Chronicle on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old tore a deltoid ligament in his ankle and sustained a high-ankle sprain in what one of the sources labeled a "low-speed" accident. Ellis underwent surgery Aug. 27 and is expected to be sidelined for at least another two months.
The cause of Ellis' injury was unclear, even to Golden State officials, immediately after he hurt himself in late August. He initially told vice president Chris Mullin the injury occurred during a pickup basketball game, before coming clean about the moped mishap.
The team has not decided how to punish Ellis for violating the terms of his new six-year, $66 million deal by participating in a banned activity and trying to cover it up.
Since riding a moped is prohibited under the uniform player contract, the Warriors could move to terminate Ellis' deal, though such a move seems highly unlikely.
A possible punishment for Ellis is a heavy fine or suspension. It's also possible the Warriors will let Ellis off the hook completely, chalking the incident up to the youngster's maturation process.
The Lakers faced a similar situation two seasons ago when forward Vladimir Radmanovic separated his shoulder in a snowboarding accident in Park City, Utah. Radmanovic, who initially said he slipped on a patch of ice, missed about two months and was fined $500,000, or roughly one-tenth of his salary.
The sources added that no final Warriors decision on Ellis is expected until next week after the two sides work through the situation. Ellis has been going back and forth between Mississippi and Birmingham, Ala., where his surgery took place.
Ellis won't be with the team Friday, when players gather for their annual media-day festivities. The team expects Ellis to arrive in Oakland sometime early in training camp, pending medical approval.
The Warriors had no comment. Ellis' agent, Jeff Fried, also declined to comment.
Beginning Saturday, the Warriors will hold two-a-day practices for the next week at their downtown Oakland facility. This year's edition of roster hopefuls includes rookie guards DeMarcus Nelson and Anthony Morrow and forwards Dion Dowell and Rob Kurz.