“That’s what that part of the business that you really don’t know nothing about unless you really be a part of it,” Monta Ellis said while reflecting on his trade from the Warriors. Back in 2012, the Golden State Warriors made a move that shook their fanbase to the core. After seven seasons of electric scoring and highlight‑reel moments, Ellis—the Warriors’ heart and soul—was traded to Milwaukee in a package with Kwame Brown and Ekpe Udoh.
In return? The Warriors got Andrew Bogut and Stephen Jackson. It wasn’t just a trade—it was a turning point. Ellis, who had dropped 25.5 points per game in his 2009-10 season, was known for lighting up the scoreboard. But Golden State was thinking bigger. They were ready to sacrifice flash for structure and offense for defense.
Ellis remains thankful that Golden State bet on an 18‑year‑old high‑schooler with raw talent. “They took the biggest risk of their life,” he said. That first contract? It still takes care of his family today. Golden State changed his life, no question. But when they traded him in 2012, after everything, it stung. That kind of goodbye always does.
On the Out The Mud Podcast, Ellis recalled the gut punch: he’d just landed in Sacramento and hung up a call with Warriors executives, who had assured him he was safe. But just moments later, everything changed. Despite the reassuring call, Ellis’s world flipped within minutes.
“From the time I got off that phone call and hung up from them… they done traded me already. So the crazy thing is now, they ain’t told me nor my agent,” Ellis recalled. Instead, it was his teammate, Dominic McGuire, who broke the news. “Bro, they just traded you… just came on ESPN, he said look, came at the bottom of the screen.”
Stephen Curry(30) and Monta Ellis(8) for the Golden State Warriors
The shock of the trade hit Ellis hard. He never saw it coming, and the way it happened left him feeling deeply hurt. “That’s how I got traded at Golden State, that messed me up though,” he shared. “I gave that city everything throughout even the bull crap, even my leg and all that. For me to be able to put my body through the things that I put my body through to get myself back right, and for that woman to come in and do it like that… that was weak. I was soft about it for a while.” It was clear how much it stung, not just because of the trade itself, but because of how it all went down after everything he had given to the team.
But it was what Monta Ellis said next that really caught fans’ attention—he drew a surprising parallel between his own trade and Luka Dončić’s.
Monta Ellis vs. Luka Doncic: Same shock, different story
Ellis recently drew parallels between his surprise trade from the Warriors and Luka Dončić’s shocking exit from the Mavericks. “They took a chance on me, and that’s why I love Golden State, you know? They gave me my shot. It’s the way it went down that really hurt me or affected me. And it’s similar to what happened to Luka Doncic,” Ellis shared on the podcast. Both trades came out of nowhere—no leaks, no drama, just a cold, late-night call that changed everything. For Ellis, like Luka, it wasn’t the move itself, but the way it unfolded that left a lasting bruise.
Yet the parallels end there. Dončić entered Dallas as an MVP contender with a deep playoff pedigree. On the other hand, Ellis joined Golden State straight from high school. By trading Ellis, the Warriors bet on emerging backcourt duo Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson—a move that ultimately launched a dynasty. Ellis, too, was a key figure in Golden State’s rise, averaging 21.9 points, 6 assists, and nearly 3.4 rebounds a game (2011-12), as per StatMuse, and was absolutely in his prime. Still, when the Warriors traded him in 2012, they already had Steph Curry breaking through and Klay Thompson emerging as a serious backcourt talent. In contrast, Dallas sent Luka to the Lakers without a clear successor, despite already being stacked with bigs and having no one who could replicate what he brought every night.
To his credit, Ellis holds no grudge. “But I had my good days and I had my bad days. But I had more good days than I had bad days… Golden State will always going to be in my heart,” he said. Luka’s still processing his exit—hurt and betrayed by how it all went down, and now adjusting to life in L.A. while the Mavs face mounting criticism for the move. In Monta’s case, the trade opened the door to one of the greatest dynasties in NBA history. Whether Dallas gets that kind of outcome remains to be seen, but right now, it feels more like a step into the unknown.
Though Golden State’s front office blindsided him, Monta Ellis’s career arc presaged the “Strength in Numbers” era. His departure cleared the path for Curry’s emergence, a strategic pivot now studied in front‑office war rooms league‑wide. As the Mavericks wrestle with their own fallout, Monta Ellis’s tale endures as a playbook on loyalty, risk, and the human cost of NBA business.
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