2018 NBA free agency grades: Heat will re-sign Wayne Ellington

The Miami Heat and Wayne Ellington have reportedly agreed to terms on a one-year deal. Let’s give Miami a grade for this free agency move.

Per ESPN‘s Chris Haynes, the Miami Heat are reportedly re-signing free agent guard Wayne Ellington to a one-year, $6.2 million deal. This was a necessary step for a Heat squad fighting to remain relevant.

The Heat are in a tricky position. Are they legitimate contenders? No, not even close. However, are they bad enough to warrant tanking? Still no, and it’s still not even close.

The Heat finished last season with a 44-38 record, which was good enough to lock them into the playoffs as the 6-seed in the Eastern Conference. They were forced to match up with a young, up-and-coming Philadelphia 76ers squad that went five seasons without seeing the playoffs. The Heat were definitely outmatched in this series. Their only chance at upsetting the Sixers was if their veterans were too savvy in the playoffs for young Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid.

Of course, we now know that wasn’t the case. Talent trumped experience (like it usually does) and the 76ers moved on in five games.

The Heat are now entering the 2018-19 NBA season in an even weaker Eastern Conference than last year due to the departure of LeBron James. Who do they have to lead their team? A 32-year-old Goran Dragic, a 36-year-old Dwyane Wade (if he returns) and … Hassan Whiteside, I guess? Yikes.

To their credit, they do have a few nice, young pieces. Josh Richardson looks like the real deal, Justise Winslow still hasn’t shown us what he can consistently contribute and Derrick Jones Jr. has played extremely well in the 2018 NBA Summer League. But are those guys really enough to make any noise in the playoffs?

Re-signing sharpshooter Wayne Ellington should help at least.

During the 2017-18 NBA season, Ellington averaged a career-high 11.2 points per game on an efficient 39.2 percent shooting from 3-point range. Ellington also managed to set the NBA record for most 3-pointers made off the bench in a single season. That’s a pretty nice tool to have in your bag if you’re the Miami Heat.

They also got him on a relatively team-friendly deal, since $6.2 million for one season is next to nothing compared to what some guys are getting paid to give their teams inferior production.

Ellington isn’t the kind of player that’s going to all of a sudden turn the Heat into a contender in the Eastern Conference. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they missed the playoffs next season. But who knows? They could also be the 3-seed. That’s just how unpredictable (and bad) the Eastern Conference is right now.

Either way, the Heat aren’t in a position to tank, so as long as they still give Josh Richardson his fair share of minutes as a player that can make a difference for Miami in the future, running it back with Ellington for one more year doesn’t hurt them at all.

Next: 2018 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far

Grade: B+