Golden State Warriors president Robert Rowell suspended Monta Ellis for 30 games without pay Saturday for violating his new contract by crashing a mo-ped. His agent, Jeff Fried, hinted they will appeal the suspension that could cost Monta $3 million. Here's what they're saying out in the ether about this mess ...

Tim Kawakami, Mercury News: "They were not going to let this go, let it slide, let the whole thing pass with a sigh and a knowing chuckle. No, the Warriors' top brass was most assuredly not going to pardon Monta Ellis for his scooter-crash sins or exercise any amount of mercy that would leave the franchise vulnerable or looking weak. [...] It was about exacting punishment while maintaining leverage on Ellis as the Warriors' wayward star recuperates from his wrecked left ankle. It was about showing everybody who's boss, who's running things, who steers this ship. It was most definitely not about mercy. The suspension will cost Ellis about $3 million in salary. The new Warriors motto: Mercy is for chumps."

Hard for the Yard: "I expected something in the $250,000 to $500,000 range, definitely no more than a million. Rowell, your franchise has sucked pretty much forever. You've made the playoffs once in something like 13 years. You're looking forward to what could be, and probably will be, a rough season in the Western Conference. Monta is clearly the team's best player. He made a mistake, and he deserves to be punished, but he's a long-term investment. Three million and 30 games is too much. Way too much. The Mississippi Bullet will be the face of your franchise for at least the next six years. Start acting like it."

Hardwood Paroxysm: "... what exactly is the source of the suspension? The fact that Ellis was even riding a moped is definitely a cause of the team's frustrations, but for consequences this severe there have to be unique circumstances. Is the team taking Monta's dishonesty so seriously that they're going to charge him ... THREE MILLION DOLLARS for it? I understand where the Warriors feel wronged in this whole ordeal, both in terms of their star player being sidelined and, on top of it, lying straight to their faces. But three mil is a pretty penny. A chunk of change. I'm not saying he doesn't deserve punishment, but it just seems like an awful lot for a white lie."

48minutes.net: "The one area where I could envision Fried making some headway is claiming that the suspension runs so long that Monta might be healthy, ready to go yet stuck on the sidelines prior to Dec. 19. Let’s figure the best-case scenario: Ellis underwent surgery on Aug. 27. At that point, the team said he needed six weeks’ worth of immobilization (taking us to Oct. 8, which was pretty much spot on), then another six weeks of off-court rehab. Assuming that figure holds — and that he won’t require extra time to recover from the surgery he needs to eventually remove hardware from his left ankle — that takes us out to Nov. 19, four weeks before the suspension is up. Will Ellis be back on the floor on Nov. 19? Assuredly not. But could he be set by, say, early December, yet barred from playing? That’s a possibility. And maybe Fried can use that to convince an arbitrator to knock a few games off the length of the suspension. I wouldn’t count on it, however."

CelticsBlog: "... by suspending Ellis, the Warriors have sent a clear message to the rest of the roster and the team's fan base. The organization appears as though it will not tolerate off-court misconduct in a manner that hurts the team, and it avoids susceptibility to accusations of star treatment for its summer investment. The Warriors set an apparent precedent here that they will punish players who step out of line and jeopardize the club, and the front office no doubt hopes that will help its image with the fans while deterring other players from similar behavior. In the meantime, the Warriors gain what should be closure to the Ellis injury mystery-fiasco without doing themselves much damage in the won-loss column. The risk of Ellis turning on the team still seems low, and so long as that doesn't happen, the suspension ploy will be a good one for Golden State."

Fast Break: "... for those pushing for the contract to be voided, it's hard to see the upside.  If Ellis returns to close to his former self, we've lost our best player for nothing. Even if Ellis doesn't, we've gained nothing in terms of cap flexibility this year (and only marginal room next year, given our likely expenses for other players and proximity to the luxury tax). Moreover, we become enemy number one for players' agents, who worry about recommending us to their clients given our willingness to choose the "nuclear" option to Ellis' injury. Finally, we likely poison the chemistry with our current group of players, who by all accounts like Ellis and consider him a key piece of the team. From our position — having no access to Ellis' medical information and prognosis for a full recovery — abandoning any future with the closest thing we have to a star seems like an awfully big risk."

Deceptively Quick: "For that $3 million Monta could have had this guy flown in to give private lessons, thus boosting his skills exponentially. He could have also built that guy a mansion, and a moped course made entirely of cotton candy where accidents would end in a delicious treat instead of ankle surgery. Perhaps that would have prevented anyone from ever discovering his secret and forbidden love affair with low powered motorized vehicles. We will never know."

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