Monta Ellis Trades Himself? Guard Buys $1.7 Million Home in Memphis

Outside of today's Zach Randolph news, another little nugget appeared in the Memphis Daily:

Professional basketball player Monta Ellis, a Mississippi native who now plays for the Golden State Warriors, has bought the Eads home once owned by former University of Memphis Tigers and Memphis Grizzlies star Lorenzen Wright. [...]

Ellis, who was born and raised in Jackson, Miss., and Juanika M. Amos paid $1.7 million for the custom-built, 12,475-square-foot house that sits on 6.46 acres on Mountain Brook Cove near Raleigh-LaGrange and Reid Hooker roads. The sale closed May 21.

Now I don't have much experience with making $11 million guaranteed over the next 5 or so years, but doesn't $1.7 million and almost 13,000 square feet sound a little excessive for a Memphis vacation home? How often is Monta Ellis planning on just stopping by Tennessee to chill in his new pad? 

Yes, it is further from the scooters in Mississippi, but I also have heard the house comes equipped with "secret compartments" and "storage lockers." OK, not really, but this is the weirdest news day in the history of Memphis Grizzlies basketball.

The Grizzlies interest in Monta is long documented, and owner Michael Heisley does seem to have an affinity for guards that are a little Iversonian (including but not limited to: washed-up Allen Iverson). Have the Grizz and the Warriors finally worked out some kind of deal that we don't yet know about?

Monta Ellis would certainly be an "impact player" as a sixth man off the bench, and, after Stephen Curry's eruption, might be able to be moved for Hasheem Thabeet and a couple of the Grizzlies first-round selections. Ellis could probably use a little rest for his legs at the start of games, since Don Nelson routinely made him go all 48 last season.

Alternatively, he could be a sign-and-trade target for Rudy Gay. This seems pretty unlikely given the makeup of both teams' rosters, though. Cory Maggette is chewing up a large chunk of cap at the 3 already, why would the W's want to create another positional long-jam? (Given their history, a better question might be: Do the W's know when they're creating positional log-jams?)

Of course this obviously just speculation since he only bought a house, but there is both smoke and fire here in the past. Don't be shocked to hear Ellis rumors all summer long.