The Dallas Mavericks have been concerned for weeks about "the impact of (Monta) Ellis' moodiness has on the team's soul," according to reporting from Tim MacMahon.

Ellis has struggled on the court as well of late and has shot just 38.9 percent from the floor since the All-Star break.

Ellis has often avoided addressing the media, particularly after poor performances.

The Mavs continue to express confidence in Ellis as their closer despite the slump.

“This is not a Monta Ellis shooting problem,” Rick Carlisle said. “This is a Dallas Mavericks hard-play problem, all right? We don’t play hard all the time. And that’s a problem.

“It’s pretty clear that’s where our inconsistency is and we’ve got to get better. We’ve got to be a more together team. I believe that we can do it. We did it in the second half, but it’s work. It takes effort. It takes effort in the locker room, it takes sacrifice and we’ve got to be willing to do those things.”

Ellis can opt out of the final year of his three-year, $25 million deal.