Monta Ellis' first full practice of the season was distinguished by what he said as much as what he did. After trash talking through his most active workout yet, the rehabbing guard proceeded to trash any notions of being unhappy with the franchise he was re-signed to lead this past summer.
"Listen, whatever it is about me leaving, wanting to go, I don't want to play for Nellie - that never came from my mouth," Ellis said Tuesday. "I don't know where they got that from, but I'm here for the next six years. I'm a Warrior. I'm going to always be a Warrior. Whoever put that out there did it because they wanted a story.
"I'm making it known right now that I'm a Warrior," he continued. "I love playing for Nellie, and I never said (otherwise), not one time. So you don't have to worry about that. ... Only thing I'm worried about is getting back on the basketball court."
That could come any week now, legal leftovers notwithstanding. Ellis' agent, Jeff Fried, who filed a grievance against the Warriors over how they handled his client's moped accident, is scheduled to be in Oakland on Monday.
It's possible that Ellis will be healthy enough to suit up for a game around then after participating in 5-on-5 scrimmaging for the first time since injuring his left ankle in August. He went full-court at times Tuesday, if not quite at full speed or full contact, and declared himself both pain- and swelling-free.
In fact, Ellis said his conditioning is the main hurdle to cross before playing in his first NBA game since the end of last season.
"Anybody who's been off nine months and tries to play this game isn't going to have it yet," Ellis said. "But like I said, I'm going to work hard and see how it goes. ...
"I'm not going to go out there and just hurt my team going out there not in shape, just my presence. I'm going to take my time and get everything back 100 percent. When that time comes, I'll let everybody know when Monta Ellis is back in the starting lineup."
