Monta Ellis agrees to four-year contract with Pacers

Free agent guard Monta Ellis and the Indiana Pacers have agreed to a four-year deal worth $44 million on Thursday, a league source confirmed.

The deal also gives Ellis, 29, a player option in the fourth year, the source confirmed. Chris Broussard of ESPN was first to report the agreement. The Pacers reportedly beat out several other teams interested in Ellis, who has averaged 19.3 points and 4.8 assists over his 10-year career.

CBS Sports' Ken Berger spoke with Ellis' agent Jeff Fried, who said Ellis was swayed by Pacers being "a playoff team with a winning culture" and said Indy's "welcoming community" was also a factor in the decision.

With Ellis, Indiana acquires a dynamic scorer as it looks to reshape an identity to a faster, smaller team. Though diminutive in size, Ellis, listed at 6-3, has traditionally played as the two-guard who has carried the offensive load. Last year with the Dallas Mavericks, Ellis led the team in scoring (18.9 points) and played with the kind of tempo that the Pacers desire by attempting 37 percent of his shots in 10 seconds or less in the shot clock.

On Wednesday, Ellis and his wife arrived in Indianapolis and later in the night, met with Pacers executives Larry Bird, Kevin Pritchard and head coach Frank Vogel. Ellis can formally sign the contract on July 9, at the end of the NBA moratorium period.