Wayne Ellington will add shooting to the New York Knicks

The New York Knicks were still able to make a quality move in adding Wayne Ellington despite overall having an unspectacular offseason.

Last season was a rough one for the blue and orange and their fans. The New York Knicks finished the 2018-19 campaign with a 17-65 record, although this was a somewhat expected outcome as the squad simply lacked the talent needed to win consistently.

Though the team is unquestionably in the rebuilding stage, they at least improved this summer by addressing some of their needs through offseason acquisitions. Notably, bringing in journeyman guard Wayne Ellington will immediately aid a Knicks bunch that lacks reliable perimeter threats.

New York was one of the league’s worst this past season when it came to 3-point shooting. For the year, they converted on just 34.0 percent of their attempts from beyond the arc which ranked 28th in the NBA. The Knicks mustered just 10.0 made treys a night, tied for 24th best in the league. When looking at the roster from 2018-19, it becomes clear as to why they struggled to score the ball from deep.

The group included a handful of players who simply shot more triples than they should have. Dennis Smith Jr. fired up 4.0 long-range bombs per contest during his 21 games as a Knick and converted on just 1.1 of them, which equates to a brutally inefficient 28.9 percent clip.

Former New York lottery pick Frank Ntilikina shot just 28.7 percent from the 3-point line on 2.7 tries per night. Mario Hezonja finished with the worst mark on the roster, making only 27.6 percent of his looks in 20.8 minutes of action.

Unlike those three examples, Ellington is someone who can not only shoot the ball with efficiency but also does so as a high volume shooter. During the 2018-19 season as a member of the Miami Heat and Detroit Pistons, the 31-year-old sharpshooter averaged 10.3 points per outing while nailing 37.1 percent of his 7.0 3-point attempts.

To put this percentage into perspective, it would rank as the second-highest mark on the 2018-19 New York roster among players who participated in more than 20 games as a Knick.

Particularly in today’s NBA, where the 3-point shot is as crucial as ever to winning, signing Ellington in free agency was a smart move by the organization. It is also worth noting that his two-year, $16 million contract is a short term deal at a bargain cost.

Ellington will almost certainly prove to be worth his $8 million annual salary assuming he can stay healthy. Inking him to a team-friendly deal was a solid maneuver in a summer that will, unfortunately, be remembered as a letdown.

By no means is Ellington a star. He is surely not the savior who is going to lead New York to a meaningful number of wins. The Knicks are better than they were in 2018-19, yet they are still a ways away from contending for a spot in the postseason.

Ellington alone cannot help Madison Square Garden’s team return to relevancy, but his presence will make the game easier for his teammates, which can in turn help put the group in positions to win games.

Look for Ellington to quickly establish himself to New York’s coaching staff as someone worthy of consistent minutes. His feathery shooting touch is a skill that the Knicks would be wise to utilize quite often during this upcoming season.