Very few players saw their minutes fluctuate more than Wayne Ellington. A late signing right before training camp, Ellington would go from being a starter one game to being a DNP-CD the next. Despite the circumstances, when given the opportunity, Ellington showed himself to be a reliable scorer and underrated defender.
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Unfortunately, Ellington’s season was cut short with a separated shoulder. At his exit interview on Tuesday, Ellington said he would love to return to the team via Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters:
Wayne Ellington says he told Mitch Kupchak & Byron Scott that he wants to be back, but he understands how the business goes.
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) April 14, 2015
Wayne Ellington: "I would love to be back w/ the Lakers but you never know in this business hopefully I'll be sitting around here next yr."
— Serena Winters (@SerenaWinters) April 14, 2015
Ellington was a true veteran in the sense that he was always ready when his number was called. Ultimately, he wound up starting 36 games for the Lakers and put together a career year posting career highs in points (10.0), rebounds (3.2), and assists (1.6). He also shot over 41 percent from the field and his 37 percent clip from three-point range ranked second on the team to Jordan Hill who only took eight shots from deep.
The summer will be an interesting one for Ellington who is an unrestricted free agent. A team can never have enough shooting and Ellington could provide that, but the Lakers are expecting to be big players in free agency and likely wouldn’t focus on Ellington until other things are handled.
For someone who little was expected of, Ellington turned out to be a decent find in free agency for the Lakers. Whether he returns to the team is a question mark, but there is no doubt he’ll be on someone’s roster next season.
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