Former NBA guard Monta Ellis is starting a new chapter as general manager of Alcorn State’s men’s basketball program, and he’s marking the occasion by revisiting an old grievance. In comments to ESPN, the new GM argued that the Golden State Warriors’ dynasty could have unfolded just the same with him running the show instead of future Hall of Famer Stephen Curry, a claim that’s already stirring up social media.

Following his recent appointment, the former explosive scoring guard reflected on his time in the Bay Area. He felt that the Warriors organization didn’t position the ‘We Believe’ Warriors to win when he was there.

“That’s what I dealt with. And people know that,” Ellis said.

He seems to look at the team that came after him, particularly built around Stephen Curry. With a Hamptons Five-like squad, Ellis feels he could’ve enjoyed the same level of success as Steph.

“Real people that know basketball and all that, they know that. They know the team that I was dealt with. If you switched me and Steph out with the team that won the championships, it’d be the same thing.”

Despite the comment, he concludes by making peace with his tenure in Golden State.

“So you’ve got to take the good with the bad, and that’s cool. It put me in a position to make money for me and my family. I ran with that.”

That humble conclusion, though, didn’t overshadow that bold assertion regarding the championship teams that succeeded his era. Dub Nation didn’t take kindly to his comments.

They pointed out Ellis’ lack of NBA accomplishments in comparison to Steph’s storied career. While Ellis was a prolific scorer and won Most Improved in 2007. He didn’t make any All-Star, MVP, or All-NBA nods.

After the We Believe era in the Bay, the Warriors went through a developmental, retooling phase that built the powerhouse teams that later claimed four NBA titles.

While the fans don’t agree with Ellis’ comparison to Curry, his underlying argument seems to be about the talent of the championship rosters, rather than solely Curry’s presence, as the ultimate deciding factor. Something Dubs faithful might relate to right now.

Why Monta Ellis feels replaced by Stephen Curry

Monta Ellis’s argument centers on the stark difference in supporting casts. During his prime in the late 2000s and early 2010s, the Warriors were constantly in rebuilding phases.

While Ellis established himself as one of the league’s most lethal perimeter scorers and the undisputed fan favorite, averaging a career-high 25.5 points per game during the 2009–10 season, the team consistently struggled to build a competitive lineup around him.

Steph Curry arrived in 2009, and they proved that two undersized, ball-dominant guards could effectively co-exist. And for a while, their partnership was one of the most lethal scoring backcourts in the league. Especially in the 2010–11 season, when Ellis was a top 10 scorer.

For nearly three seasons, the franchise attempted to navigate injuries and overlapping roles around Ellis and Curry. The paradigm shifted permanently on March 13, 2012.

In a blockbuster deadline trade, Golden State sent Ellis, Kwame Brown, and Ekpe Udoh to the Milwaukee Bucks in exchange for defensive anchor Andrew Bogut and veteran Stephen Jackson.

The trade initially sparked outrage across the Bay Area. During Chris Mullin’s jersey retirement ceremony at Oracle Arena, just a week after the deal, Warriors owner Joe Lacob was famously showered with loud boos from an angry fan base.

However, the move paved the way for the Splash Brothers by opening the starting shooting guard spot to Klay Thompson and handing the keys to the offense entirely to Curry. Their backcourt would create the Warriors’ dynasty across four titles.

Now, as Ellis steps into his executive role as general manager for the HBCU program at Alcorn State, Curry might be in the same spot as Ellis once was. Fans are upset that the Warriors are focused on the post-Curry future instead of building a team around him.

It might just cement Monta Ellis’s theory on how much a franchise values prioritizing the fan favorite over the future.