Wayne Ellington--long term

[revprodeji]

What do you see as the long-term role/place for Wayne? I have seen multiple takes and I bounce back and forth also.

1.) Spare minute wingman similar to Lazar.

2.) The future "Mayor" a 3pt specialist off the bench.

3.) Perhaps the 3rd guard playing possible emergency PG in our hybrid Triangle cluster-Fcuk offense.

My question is why do we never think he could be a long term starter or even the 6th man?

-He has range, (although inconsistent, but that could be due to minutes)
-BBIQ (His role in the UNC offense requires it.)
-He seems to be able to put the ball on the floor and create for himself and others.
-Is it his size? 6'5.25 w shoes is decent. His wingspan/reach (6'6.5/8'4) is slightly below avg, but 2 inches shorter reach then Wade, and bigger than Mayo or Ben Gordon.
-defense?

I just think it is worth discussing.

[YamiRain]

what happened to wayne

[Yes We Kahn]

I bounce back and forth also. He can often look really good. Sometimes I describe the way he moves as Kobe-esque (obviously he, himself is not Kobe-esque). To be honest, I think his handle is better than Flynn's and wouldn't mind seeing him get some minutes as PG (seriously, whats the deal with Flynn?...)

That said, he goes through stretches where he is really ineffective. I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it is just a matter of getting burn to get some experience. I'd like to get more of a look at him, but we have such a glut at the 2/3.

[The J Rocka]

I honestly don't know why he isn't better than what he is. He's got the tools to be solid off the bench. You would think after having a decent rookie year you would work even harder in the off-season and show improvement. There's a reason why he's not getting playing time.

With Webster being in a funk, he should be taking advantage of his opportunity. He did a good job vs. the Wiz but then last night he was just garbage. Very inconsistent.

[C.lupus]

Yep, I think inconsistency is his downfall. He should be a decent 6th man providing a scoring spark off the bench but he just disappears some games. If he could consistently play like the Wiz game, he'd be a starter in the league.

[Dewey]

I don't see his offensive skill-set as his issue, but he's merely an "average at best" athlete for SG. he also has a ways to go physically (strength-wise), and once he gets there, he may have the ability to acheive an "average defender" status.

Cheap reserve - yes.
Starter/high minute reserve - no.
Back up PG - NO.

I see him as a situational player until further development.

[Yes We Kahn]

It looks to me like his inconsistency is due to over-confidence rather than a lack of it. When he has a good game, I think he tries to do/shoot too much in the next game. Maybe him and Wes can talk it out and meet somewhere in between. Then *poof* we have 2 good, consistent players

[Kevin_Love_42]

Im a big fan of Wayne's. He is very smooth player, he does a lot of things well. He is obviously a great shooter but he has well rounded game to go along with his shooting ability. I think when he came to us his rookie season he was just a shooter but it is apparent that he has put a lot of work into his game just from watching the way he could take over the game in the summer league and in his spurts of minutes he gets now.

Wayne has good handles which allow him to drive to create his shot and even play some point in spurts. I think that fact alone puts his ceiling above a Fred Hoiberg because he doesnt have to sit on the perimeter waiting to be fed.

He makes smart decisions with the ball in his hands. He is a good passer and his BBIQ is noticeably pretty high. As said by the OP, Wayne is a pretty solid size for a two guard too. I think with the effort and energy he plays with Wayne could develop into a solid defender.

Right now the mistakes he is making go along with not getting consistent minutes, I think once he gets more of the minutes he deserves Wayne has the potential to be our sixth man.

I would like to package Wes and Web to get a defined starting two guard kind of in the same vein as Andre Iguodala no saying it has to be Iggy though because I dont know how his game clashes with Michael Beasley's.

But a lineup of:

Darko, Pek, Kosta
Love, Randolph, Tolliver
Beas, Brew, Terrence Jones, Lazar
Iggy, Ellington
Rubio, Ridnour

Looks very nice moving forward.

[Peezo]

I have been a Wellington detractor but I am happy to see him playing better in these past couple of games. I think he is a life-time bench player though.

[mark blunt]

I don't see his offensive skill-set as his issue, but he's merely an "average at best" athlete for SG. he also has a ways to go physically (strength-wise), and once he gets there, he may have the ability to acheive an "average defender" status.

Cheap reserve - yes.
Starter/high minute reserve - no.
Back up PG - NO.

I see him as a situational player until further development.

I can agree with this. He was one of the stars on a great, highly visible team and he basically lasted until the second round. The red flag on that is always athleticism.

As for the comment that he gets overconfident after a good game, I would say that he likely just tries to do to much after having a good game. He finally gets some pt and wants to make the most of it to stay in the game, but he just ends up taking too many shots.

[mandurugo]

Wayne has good handles which allow him to drive to create his shot and even play some point in spurts. I think that fact alone puts his ceiling above a Fred Hoiberg because he doesnt have to sit on the perimeter waiting to be fed.

Perhaps his ceiling is higher, but he has a long way to go to be as good as Hoiberg actually was. Until he improves his consistency he won't be anything other than the novelty sub (Rev's option 1) he is now - capable of the occasional great game but not a player to be relied on.

[Foye]

His shot is solid but the dude doesn't impress me much.

[eyeteeth]

Wayne is on the bubble right now. He could easily make the jump to a solid reserve guard, or he could just as easily stagnate just beneath regular playing time. Given that this is halfway into his sophomore season, I have hopes that he will become the better player. It worries me how inconsistent he is, though. It seems like maybe a mental hurdle could be harder to overcome than a skills/learning hurdle.

[UK-Wolf]

What Foye said, basically. When he's hot he's hot but that rarely happens..he's just far too inconsistent. Then again I, for one, have never seen him really get that much of an opportunity so it's kind of an unfair judgement.

[shangrila]

He crapped out in pre-season and early games but if he can keep up his new play then I think he could easily be a 20mpg bench guy. Either way I think they should try and keep him on the roster. High character guy with an apparently great work ethic is good for the locker room.

[Foye]

What Foye said, basically. When he's hot he's hot but that rarely happens..he's just far too inconsistent. Then again I, for one, have never seen him really get that much of an opportunity so it's kind of an unfair judgement.

He kind of reminds me of a poor mans Timberwolves Randy Foye right now.

[GopherIt!]

hmmm, isn't that like the pot calling the kettle black?

[Peezo]

After how many minutes he got last night, and just generally all minutes as of late, I feel like he is being showcased for a trade. Thoughts?

IMO, I have never been a big believer in his game (since he arrived here and didn't do much, I loved him in college), but I would be disappointed if he was shipped right as he started to play better. But he is the type of asset that is best to flip because he is not a unique talent.

[shangrila]

He's not being shopped, he's just outplaying the likes of Johnson.

[Peezo]

He's not being shopped, he's just outplaying the likes of Johnson.

I agree that he is outplaying Wes right now, but I think one of the main minutes he has seen any minutes could be due to the fact he might be a part of a deal. Its not out of the question. Maybe he just got in because Beasley was out, thus freeing up wing minutes, but isn't it more fun to dream?