Golden State suspends Monta Ellis for 30 games

Monta Ellis has been suspended for 30 games by the Golden State Warriors.

Translation: $3 million in lost salary.

Monta lied about his ankle injury, saying at first that he hurt himself playing pickup ball in Mississippi. When doctors questioned the likelihood that such an injury could occur during a basketball game, Monta came clean and admitted to hurting himself in a low-speed moped crash.

Team officials disagreed over how severely Monta should be punished. Unfortunately for Monta, having both coach Don Nelson and general manager Chris Mullin on his side didn't help. Team owner Chris Cohan and team president Robert Rowell made the decision to suspend Ellis, starting point guard and face of the franchise for at least for the next six years.

Here is what Rowell said:

"Chris Mullin made it perfectly clear to both Mr. Cohan and myself that he didn't think this was a big deal at the beginning, and we happen to think it's a very big deal. We happen to think that it's a big deal for our fans, it's a big deal for our season ticket-holders, it's a big deal for our business partners, it's a big deal for the Warriors organization."

I expected something in the $250,000 to $500,000 range, definitely no more than a million. Rowell, your franchise has sucked pretty much forever. You've made the playoffs once in something like 13 years. You're looking forward to what could be, and probably will be, a rough season in the Western Conference. Monta is clearly the team's best player. He made a mistake, and he deserves to be punished, but he's a long-term investment. Three million and 30 games is too much. Way too much. The Mississippi Bullet will be the face of your franchise for at least the next six years. Start acting like it.

Thanks to InGameNow for the Photoshop inspiration.