Wayne Ellington likely to be available, and the Warriors are a good match
The sharpshooting wing will likely be waived following a trade. Will he sign with the Warriors?
Wayne Ellington has been traded from the Miami Heat to the Phoenix Suns, but is looking to be waived, which would allow him to join a playoff team such as the Golden State Warriors.
The veteran wing and Tyler Johnson were traded on Wednesday in exchange for Ryan Anderson. But Ellington, who is on an expiring contract, has no value playing for Phoenix, a lottery-bound team. The Suns may try to trade him ahead of Thursday’s deadline, or they may just head straight into waiving him.
Agent Mark Bartelstein is working with the Suns to waive guard Wayne Ellington and allow him to join a playoff contender, league sources tell ESPN. Ellington is arriving with Tyler Johnson from Miami in the trade for Ryan Anderson.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 6, 2019
If that happens, Ellington will be free to sign with any team for the minimum, and the Warriors would certainly be a strong fit. Golden State has an open roster spot, and will surely look to fill it with a waived player.
The 31-year old 6-foot-5 wing is a career 38.0% three-point shooter, which would be a huge addition to Golden State’s bench. Golden State’s core bench players - Andre Iguodala, Shaun Livingston, Quinn Cook, Alfonzo McKinnie, Jonas Jerebko, and Kevon Looney - are averaging a combined 3.1 triples per game this year. The Warriors would be very happy to upgrade that.
Other teams will be interested in Ellington, who has already played for seven teams in his ten-year career. So if the Warriors want him, they’ll have to sell the sharpshooter on the prospect of winning a ring, rather than having the largest role possible.