Monta Ellis Says He Was Unhappy in Milwaukee

Dallas Mavericks guard Monta Ellis is happy with his new surroundings, and even happier to be out of Milwaukee. Ellis told the media that he was miserable and overworked as a Buck. Per the AP and NBA.com: “Monta Ellis says he had to do ’60 percent of everything’ in Golden State and Milwaukee. Since the new Dallas Mavericks guard might use that to explain why he shot an alarmingly low 29% on three-pointers last season, he’s about to find out if a little help will make any difference. That’s because new backcourt mate Jose Calderon wants to be the facilitator for Ellis and everyone else on a roster that is going through its third makeover in as many seasons. Ellis and Calderon were among seven free agents introduced in Dallas on Thursday. The list included Devin Harris, the former University of Wisconsin star who started his career in Dallas as a top-five pick nine years ago. Ellis made the playoffs in his only full season with Milwaukee. He matched his career low by shooting 42%, and his scoring average dropped for the third straight season. The Bucks were swept by Miami in the first round. ‘When you’re in a place where you’re unhappy, it’s very hard to perform to your best ability,’ said Ellis. … ‘So this is a new beginning, a new fresh start, better organization, better teammates,’ he said. […] Better organization? Better teammates? Ellis electing to leave $11 million on the table for next season told the Bucks how he felt about his 103-game run there. Asked to elaborate on what went so wrong, Ellis, who didn’t reap what he envisioned when he hit the open market as a free agent, just said, ‘I left that in Milwaukee.’ […] The Mavs are desperate for fireworks and Ellis is desperately seeking a happy place to revive his career. Not that Ellis has been anything close to a hyper-efficient scorer, but if he can give the Mavs 2010-11 numbers — 45.1 percent overall and a career-best 36.1 from 3-point range — they’ll be thrilled. ‘I don’t really have to shoot the ball as much on this team,’ Ellis said. ‘The previous team I been on, like I said once before, I had to do 60 percent of the work no matter what the situation is. I think with this team here, I don’t have to do as much or take as many shots because sometimes they’re going to stop me and Dirk is going to be open, Jose [Calderon], Devin [Harris], the list goes on and. So I don’t think I have to do as much as I had to do in the previous years. So that’s going to get me back to being efficient, that’s going to get me back to being more consistent and it’s going to get me back to playing Monta basketball.'”