Brooklyn
Terrible Coaching
Ellington played 76 games for the Brooklyn Nets this past season. This included a career-high 41 starts. He played 22 games in which he attempted 10 or more field goals. In these games, he averaged 12.3 points and shot 38.2 percent from three-point range.
The Nets, however, posted a terrible 21-61 record. His second stint under head coach Lionel Hollins saw Hollins replaced mid-season. It’s fair to say that Ellington will not look back fondly on his Hollins experience.
Whilst playing under Hollins in Memphis, as noted earlier, his season-high 26 points was rewarded with five minutes of playing time the following game.
Earlier during the season, Ellington hit on 7 of 11 three-pointers for 25 points, only to receive 11 minutes the following game. The same happened again in Brooklyn. Following a season-high 26 points, Ellington played just 17 minutes the following game against Orlando.
In his seventh season, you couldn’t blame Ellington if he lost patience with such incompetent coaching.
Back-court teammates
Accompanying the dreadful coaching were his backcourt teammates. Jarrett Jack, Donald Sloan and Shane Larkin handled the point guard duties for the majority of the season. Larkin and Sloan played large chunks of the season due to the sustained absence of Jack.
To this point, Larkin has been a back-up in his three-year career, whereas Sloan will play in China this coming season. Again, not a great situation for Ellington.
Next: Takes his talents to South Beach