Wayne Ellington has given the Miami Heat a much needed veteran presence and consistent shooting off the bench. But is it enough to keep the journeyman around next year?
Much like Dion Waiters and James Johnson, NBA journeyman and sharpshooter Wayne Ellington is in the midst of a career year that wasn’t ever supposed to happen.
Waiters, Johnson and Ellington were all signees in the wake of the devastation left by Dwyane Wade’s unexpected exit from Miami. They were simply outcasts brought in for what remained of the Miami Heat’s salary cap space. Johnson received a one-year deal worth $4 million, Waiters got two years for around $6 million (with a player option for next year) and Ellington, playing for his seventh team, received a two-year deal worth $12 million with a team option for next season.
Johnson is likely to command big money on the open market and Waiters would be wise to opt out and test free agency to get a well-deserved payday. Both will surely give Miami a fair shot at resigning them but ultimately at least one of them may not fit into the organization’s future plans as Pat Riley looks to lure big name stars back to Miami.
That begs the question: Where, if at all, does Wayne Ellington fit into the Heat’s future?
The question of whether Ellington has earned a spot on the team next year is simple–an overwhelming “yes.” Whether the Heat will look to fit him on the roster next year is a different conversation, however drawing the same answer.
There are a couple of factors working in Ellington and the Heat’s favors when it comes to deciding whether to bring the reliable three-point shooter back. First, the $6.3 million owed next year is non-guaranteed, and the Heat don’t have to guarantee it until July 7, the first day after the league’s moratorium is lifted on free agents.
Essentially, by the time the Heat have to decide on Ellington, they’ll have a strong idea of where they stand with the league’s biggest free agents and thus where the 29-year old fits into their cap situation.
On the floor, Ellington is turning back the clock to the days of Ray Allen in a Miami Heat jersey running defenders ragged, operating in the type of space that Erik Spoelstra’s offense is known to create for shooters. Much like Allen, Ellington is having success to the tune of a career-high percentage from deep (37.7 percent).
“It’s a great luxury for us on several different levels,” Spoelstra said recently. “One, he’s ignitable, so he can go on a run, where it’s two, three, four in a row. That can change the momentum of a game just like that. Secondly, he’s always in somebody’s game plan now, so that does create space unto itself. But, also, thirdly, it adds to our menu. So we’re not just pick-and-roll dominant.”
Adding to the Heat’s offensive menu is one of the things that makes Ellington so valuable, particularly with the new focus on three-point shooting. Last year’s Heat team shot 33.6 percent while only attempting 1480 three-pointers. This year’s team is shooting 36.3 percent and have attempted 1969. They’ll most certainly break the 2012-13 NBA Champion Miami Heat’s record with 717 made three-point shots.
Ellington hasn’t been shy in that department, making a career-high 130 from three thus far (his previous record was 96 in Brooklyn last season) which leads the team by 25 over Goran Dragic.
While Ellington may be having a career year individually, it’s worth looking into whether his play translates to victories for the Heat. Since January 17, a now-famous date in Miami Heat history, when they began their 13-game winning streak and historic turnaround, Ellington is taking just under 75 percent of his shots from three and making them at a 41 percent clip.
The three-point shot has proven instrumental in the Heat’s renaissance, as they rank fourth in the league since then at 39.1 percent. Their 24-8 record in that time has included 19 games of 10 or more made three-pointers. They have 34 such games throughout this season.
Much of Ellington’s success comes from his usage. Spoelstra uses the guard in a number of situations formerly reserved for Ray Allen. Take the below for example, one of the staple plays to get a shooter open.
Against a team like the Magic, notorious for blitzing pick and rolls and switching frantically, Ellington flashes to set a screen only to slip it, get a screen from Okaro White and pop open for three. Evan Fournier and Elfrid Payton blitzed Dragic, leaving Ellington all alone for the shot.
Then there are more bread-and-butter plays, like this one against Brooklyn that showed just how vital Ellington is to the offense. When Spoelstra calls a set for him, he morphs into a playmaker as opposed to just a shooter. Many Heat fans will recognize this set from the Allen days. The personnel has changed, but the result is the same.
Ellington takes his man through not one but two screens on his way around the baseline to the other side of the court. Communicating and reacting defensively against a player moving with the speed and precision of Ellington is nearly impossible. The rotation is late and the shot is but a foregone conclusion.
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Ultimately, Wayne Ellington has proven to be one of the Heat’s most reliable players. Along with James Johnson and Tyler Johnson, Ellington anchors the fifth best scoring bench in the NBA—something that is vital to winning not only late in the regular season but also in the playoffs.
Not only has he earned a spot on the Heat’s roster next year, but the decision should be a rather easy one as they look to build a shooters delight around Hassan Whiteside.