Miami Heat: 4 midseason questions for this middling Heat team
By Trey Flynn
No. 4 – Is there a trade you’d like to see happen for Ellington before the deadline?
Rahmeaun: As much as I’d like to see Ellington get minutes in a Miami Heat uniform, I know a trade is more likely. I’d like to see him give the team permission to trade him to a team that would like to re-sign him. Therefore they gain his Bird rights and don’t have to have cap room to re-sign him in the summer. I’d also like this to be a place where he can get minutes and compete in games that matter. After looking long and hard and through 5 different playoff-bound rosters I found no teams that could afford to take on Ellington’s contract without sending someone that wouldn’t also want picks in return from Miami for. So down to the next tier we go. I’d like to see him be moved back to Minnesota. They’ve got a growing cast of starters with high talent, but they do have a blank space for shooting guards that provide excellent perimeter shooting along with at least decent defense. They’re hovering around .500 now so they most likely won’t make the playoffs, but next season they can make a push with a player like Wayne Ellington on the books for a few years. They’d have to trade Anthony Tolliver in the deal (which the Heat would immediately waive), but such is life in the NBA. I think the trade would be win-win for both teams involved as well as Ellington himself. Unless he hates the cold…
Next. 5 Wayne Ellington trade ideas to help clear up depth. dark
Imran: I would love to see Ellington be moved to the 76ers or the Lakers, honestly. Whenever you have a player like Ben Simmons, who doesn’t scare anyone from distance, having more threats like JJ Redick and Ellington is always useful and helps to spread the floor so Simmons can take off to the rim. Same applies to the Lakers and LeBron James. Kyle Kuzma has developed really well around James, but there’s no one else on that team that really scares an opponent from deep. As long as the Heat get either an asset or an expiring deal in return for Ellington, I’m all for it.
The rumors have also had the Warriors in the mix for Ellington, and while that would make my blood boil, because they already have the championship in hand, if they can provide the best offer, so be it. Imagine a shooting lineup with Stephen Curry, Wayne Ellington, Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant… Wow.