The Miami Heat are reportedly exploring trades involving shooting guard Wayne Ellington. The Heat have also already received inquiries from more than a dozen teams regarding the University of North Carolina product.
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•Heat exploring Ellington trades.
• Have fielded inquiries from over a dozen teams.
• Up to this point the offers haven’t outweighed safety net of having depth.
• Waiters/TJ health, Goran injury, Wade mileage – all factoring into considerations.@miaheatbeat @5ReasonsSports— Greg Sylvander (@GregSylvander) January 3, 2019
Ellington has seemingly been phased out of the rotation over the past few weeks, having not seen any minutes in seven of the Heat’s past 11 games. In the four games he has appeared in, he has only played 7.9 minutes per game.
Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra hasn’t been able to find any minutes for the 31-year-old because of how well other players like Josh Richardson, Rodney McGruder, Tyler Johnson and Dwyane Wade have been doing this season. The recent return of Dion Waiters also limits the opportunities Ellington could receive.
Ellington recently acknowledged the possibility that he could request a trade away from the Heat in the future should he continue to ride the bench.
Last season, Ellington had a career year, averaging 11.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting 39.2 percent from three. He then re-signed with the Heat on a one-year, $6.27 million contract for this season, where he has averaged 8.3 points per game on 36.5 percent shooting from 3.
Teams like the Los Angeles Lakers are reportedly interested in him and if the Heat receive an enticing enough package, which could include either a first-round pick or two second-round picks, they could end up deciding to deal him.
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