Semi-retired guard Monta Ellis played for four teams in his 12-year NBA career. He hasn’t been in the league since 2017, and while there were rumours here and there about a possible workout or return, he never locked down another roster spot.

Ellis is best known for his seven years with the Golden State Warriors, where he played a key role in the beloved ‘We Believe’ era and the following rebuild that paired him with Stephen Curry in the backcourt.

His sudden departure in the middle of the 2011-12 season wasn’t received well by the fans and he touched on the subject in a recent interview with SLAM.

“I had just got traded to Milwaukee. The fans were upset … A lot of people were saying they would’ve taken me over [Stephen Curry]. Being young, sometimes that’ll get to you, and I understood it. So I just called him and told him, ‘Don’t worry about all of that, man. Just keep working hard. You’re in a great situation, it’s your team. There are going to be critics. You’re going to have people that are going to say what they’re going to want to say. Once you turn it around, I guarantee they are all going to be on your bandwagon.’”

Monta Ellis on his departure from the Warriors

At that time, while the Warriors were indeed in need of some changes, few expected that it was Ellis who will get shipped. He was loved by the Dubs faithful, was easily one of the most explosive guards in the league, and averaged over 24 points and five assists in the two prior seasons.

Curry, meanwhile, was struggling to break out as a real star despite two strong seasons. There were growing concerns about his ankles as well. He sat out the majority of that season due to an injury and averaged just 14.7 points in 26 games.

What further angered the fans, which led to team owner Joe Lacob getting heavily booed, was Ellis being swapped for the oft-injured Andrew Bogut. The big man was sidelined at the time of the trade and missed 17, 13, and 46 games in the three prior seasons. He wasn’t even able to suit up for the Dubs until the following campaign.

To put things in an even wider perspective, the loyal but suffering Warrior fanbase had witnessed their team miss 15 of the last 16 previous postseasons. The front office had inexplicably let go or traded away several rising stars while in the middle of that awful stretch, and to top it off, they rarely drafted well.

Fortunately, lady luck sided with the Warriors’ side from that point on. Curry blossomed into a superstar MVP and all-time great shooter (maybe the best ever), 2011 lottery pick Klay Thompson turned into the second half of the Splash Brothers, they acquired veteran elite two-way player Andre Iguodala, David Lee became an All-Star in the 2012-13 season, and 2012 second-round pick Draymond Green proved to be an absolute steal.

Oh, and let’s not forget that they were able to convince Kevin Durant to join the gang just five weeks after completely embarrassing him and his team in the 2016 Western Conference Finals. They snagged one of the most versatile scorers in the game while fresh-off a record-breaking 73-9 season and a championship in 2015.

Dubs fans certainly can’t complain about how it worked out, but their frustrations were understandable at the time.