Byron Scott
Cleveland
His greatest opportunities have both come under the same head coach, Byron Scott.
First, Ellington played half a season under Scott with the Cleveland Cavaliers to finish the 2012-13 season. Traded there mid-season, Ellington played a career-high 25.9 minutes per game and averaged 10.4 points per game. Amongst his 38 games for the Cavaliers, there would be 16 games where he had 10 or more field goals attempts. he would average 13.9 points on 44.1 percent shooting.
However, there are some factors that must be taken into account. Ellington shared backcourt duties with second-year point guard Kyrie Irving and rookie Dion Waiters. They represent two shoot-first guards who love to go one and one. Secondly, the Cavaliers were a mess as a team. They compiled a 24-58 record, which resulted in coach Scott’s firing at seasons end.
Los Angeles
Ellington signed with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2014-15 season, just as the team hired Scott.
For the season, he averaged 10 points per game in 25.8 minutes per game. This included 36 starts from 65 games. Ellington played 32 games where he attempted 10 or more field goals. In these games, he averaged 13.3 points on 40 percent shooting and 35.8 percent on three-pointers. (This was also the season during which Ellington’s father was killed.)
Although Kobe Bryant missed a large chunk of the season due to injury, the remaining guards weren’t very compatible. Jeremy Lin, Nick Young and rookie Jordan Clarkson filled a large portion season as his partners in charge. All are essentially score-first guards. This was never going to be fully conducive to Ellington’s talents.
Furthermore, the Lakers experienced a horrible 21-61 season. Overall, Ellington was more than serviceable during his one season in Los Angeles considering the dreadful circumstances.
Next: Quick stop in Brooklyn