Warriors GM: ‘We are not shopping Ellis’

Golden State guard Monta Ellis has been the subject of many trade rumors recently. (Jason Pohuski/Cal Sport Media)

I had a wide-ranging conversation with Warriors general manager Larry Riley on Wednesday. Some highlights:

• On reports that the team is in talks to trade Monta Ellis:

“We are not shopping Monta Ellis. It is business as usual here. I think you have to look at what just happened in the Finals — it seemed like Dallas played pretty small guards throughout that series with Miami and did a pretty good job of it. Our problem is not the small backcourt [of Ellis and Stephen Curry]. Our problem is defense.”

• On Andris Biedrins, whom Riley clearly expects to have a bounce-back season:

“I just got off the phone with him [in Latvia], and before we hung up today, I told him, ‘I can notice a difference in your voice.’ It was noticeable. His excitement for the game is back. We have a program in place for him. He’s working with people in regards to strength and conditioning, and as rules allow during the summer, we’ll send an assistant coach [to Latvia] to work with him this summer.

“His overall health is finally good now. At the end of the year, he had a high-ankle sprain, but we had that evaluated and he’s fine. Now the thing is to get his speed and quickness back to where it was at one time. We just need him to be the player he was three years ago. He has really bought in to helping himself. He sees a brand new beginning in terms of how he can fit in here.”

• On one small plank of Mark Jackson’s coaching philosophy:

“He’s going to very helpful to our point guards, in terms of getting into a situation where he is not going to have to call the plays all the time. He’d rather work with them and get them comfortable running the team, while he would only call plays when necessary. I think that’s one way we can control our assist-to-turnover ratio, which wasn’t as good as we’d have liked.”

• On whether he would have hired Jackson without also signing Mike Malone, recently of the Hornets, to be Jackson’s top assistant:

“We were going to hire Mark Jacksion, but the decision became even easier once it looked like we were also going to get Mike Malone. They will be a great team.”

• On his own (brief) history with Malone:

“We actually worked together several years ago at the predraft camp in Chicago, when they actually used to play five-on-five. Mike and I coached a team together for a week, and when you spend a week with a guy, you really get a good feel for him.”

• More on the Ellis/Curry dynamic:

“We can move forward with this team. Obviously it would be a nice thing if we could acquire a point guard who was 6-foot-4 to come off the bench, or a 2-guard who was 6-5 and could guard point guards — someone off the bench who is a bit longer. But that backcourt in Dallas was not long either. But when I mention Dallas, you have to give Jason Kidd credit, too — he’s a great defender. But they still had times when they had both J.J. Barea and Jason Terry on the floor.”

• On Golden State’s fast pace of play:

“It doesn’t do you any good to lead the league in transition offense and be last in transition defense. That’s something you can change pretty quick. You can get a handle on [transition defense] right away. You can take pride in it. It’s about concentration on the defensive end of the floor. Mark is going to make a commitment to defense, and he’s going to stick to that. It would help if I could get him a little better roster, and if Biedrins is healthy and blocking shots.”