Los Angeles Lakers Can't Afford to Ignore Wayne Ellington's Obvious Value

Averaging just 17 minutes off the bench for the Los Angeles Lakers, Wayne Ellington is a role player whose value is sometimes overlooked.

This may seem like a curious statement during a losing season and about someone averaging just 6.4 points per game, but Ellington is a system player who can come off screens and sink spot-up threes.

And that’s a useful quality in Byron Scott’s hybrid Princeton offense.

At age 27, the 6'4" shooting guard has never been a starter and has bounced around the league, playing with five teams in six seasons. Even so, he has common ties with some fellow Lakers—he and Ed Davis were on the same North Carolina team that won the 2009 national championship.

Ellington’s pinpoint shooting during the title run helped earn him the NCAA Final Four Most Outstanding Player Award, while he and Davis were co-winners of the Most Improved Player honor.

Their paths crossed again during the 2012-13 season with the Memphis Grizzlies. Davis arrived from the Toronto Raptors in a trade just days after Ellington was dealt to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

The guard’s new coach was none other than Scott. Ellington’s scoring jumped from 5.5 points per game in Memphis to 10.4 over 38 appearances with the Cavaliers.

Jodie Valade of The Cleveland Plain Dealer wrote about Ellington’s rising production, and the faith expressed by his coach: “He is not a demanding ball hog. He is not a player who turns the ball over often. He is not the kind of guard who will take wild shots from all angles of the court at any time.”

The former collegiate star will never be known as a volume scorer in the NBA, but he still has a pure outside stroke.

That doesn’t mean Ellington’s judicious finesse game always pays off. He can be streaky—shooting 1-of-11 over a three-game stretch, before making 3-of-5 in a loss to the Indiana Pacers Monday night.

But despite the occasional drought, Ellington’s overall numbers lend credence to his efficiency. He’s averaging 47 percent from the field this season with a solid 37 percent from beyond the arc. Additionally, his turnover rate is the lowest of any active player on the roster.

The real question is whether a veteran journeyman guard with an unguaranteed contract can carve out a lasting identity with a new team.

This season has brought challenges far more profound than basketball, however. On Nov. 9, after the Lakers defeated the Charlotte Hornets for their first win of the season, Ellington received devastating news about the tragic and sudden death of his father.

The team granted Ellington an indefinite leave of absence. He returned two weeks later, and per Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News, pledged to dedicate the rest of the season to his dad’s memory: “He was so ecstatic when I signed with the Lakers before camp. He was telling me how proud he is of me. I’m leaving it all out there every single day, every time I step out on the floor.”

Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Ellington was an elite prospect as a kid, honing his skills with The Playaz—an AAU club that counts Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, J.R Smith, Kyle Lowry and Kenneth Faried among its alumni.

From there to Daniel Boone High School and Episcopal Academy, Ellington was scouted, touted and recruited. He was considered the No. 1 shooting guard prospect of the 2006 class by top collegiate scout Dave Telep (subscription required) and prospered under Roy Williams at UNC—from running the floor to scoring off back screens and ball reversals. 

Yet, like many rising stars, Ellington never made the jump to NBA dominance.

He has made a living as a perennial backup—good enough to continue his professional career from one basketball home to the next, from the Minnesota Timberwolves, who drafted him late in the first round, to the here and now in Los Angeles.

Ellington can do a little of everything well, and he can do some things much better than that. He has a solid work ethic, offers quiet leadership and can catch and shoot on a second’s notice with opposing players in his face—a valuable skill set on a team that has struggled with offensive production.

His ability to play consistently smart basketball also matters—the Lakers have lacked depth and cohesion at the wing all season.

There may not be huge minutes available for a second-string shooting guard playing in the shadow of Bryant. But lightening the load, even incrementally, on the Mamba’s weary legs would help the equation.

Putting timely points on the board only adds to that benefit.

Wayne Ellington will probably never be a star in the league, but he still offers value.

And the Lakers—a team in rebuilding mode—can’t afford to ignore that.