The Los Angeles Lakers have signed free agent Wayne Ellington, the team announced on Monday. Ellington has had a hectic offseason -- the shooting guard was traded from the Dallas Mavericks to the New York Knicks in the Tyson Chandler-Jose Calderon swap, and then he was dealt from New York to the Sacramento Kings, who waived him for financial reasons.
Ellington shot 42 percent from 3-point range last season in Dallas, but he only appeard in 45 games and averaged 8.7 minutes per contest. At 26 years old, he's proven in five NBA seasons that he can stretch the floor. There's value in his shooting, but the fact he hadn't found a team until now should show you that he hasn't shown the league he is consistently adept at anything beyond that.
The Lakers have a bit of a logjam at Ellington's position, which means minutes might again be tough to find. Kobe Bryant should obviously play a lot, and then there's Nick Young, Xavier Henry and rookie combo guard Jordan Clarkson. Point guards Steve Nash and Jeremy Lin might share the backcourt sometimes, too. Since Los Angeles is so thin at small forward, though, new head coach Byron Scott might try to go small. Ellington doesn't have the length to handle the average small forward, however.
