While the free agency frenzy has started, one team that does not have much luck is the Sacramento Kings.
They continue to strike out on their targets and as such, they need to scour the trade market to upgrade their roster. One of their targets last year was Monta Ellis, but he shunned them and took an offer from the Indiana Pacers instead.
Ellis is known as a scorer and not much else, quite similar to Rudy Gay, but positional needs can make a trade for each other a good proposition.
This is a deal that's almost too easy to predict. Both sides have already expressed interest to move the players. Zach Lowe of ESPN briefly mentioned that "the Pacers would like to dump Monta Ellis" and for the Sacramento Kings, that could mean a second chance to secure their target.
The SB Nation Sacramento Kings team site Sactown Royalty has already mentioned that there are discussions between the two teams. Ellis along with Rodney Stuckey were the probable players involved.
The Pacers seem intent on moving on from their combo guards which they had three of in the past season. George Hill, Ellis and Stuckey are not point guards as they often look to score. Having three of them in one team did not help the chemistry.
Hill was already moved for Jeff Teague, a former All-Star point guard from the Atlanta Hawks. It was received as a good move for the team as described by team site 8Points 9Seconds. However, there were still misgivings about Teague and Ellis as the starting backcourt as Jared Wade of 8P9S stated.
"Both players have talent. But, unfortunately, their talents overlap quite a bit. As do their flaws. Namely, these limitations include their defense, their need to handle the ball to be effective, and their inability to consistently hit long-range shots."
Ellis is still a talented player just as Rudy Gay is, but both team sites believe that their respective squads would be better off trading their players for better fits.
A Monta Ellis for Rudy Gay trade simply works for both sides.