New York Knicks: 3 players not likely to return in 2020-21
3. Wayne Ellington
Wayne Ellington was one of last offseason’s many additions. The veteran shooting guard was primarily brought in to add a touch of shooting the Knicks have been lacking for several years.
As with most of the free agents, things didn’t really work out. Ellington’s sole job was to shoot 3-pointers: a staggering 82.2 percent of his field goal attempts came from three. But he only converted 35.0 percent of those attempts, his lowest success rate since the 2011-12 season. In fact, he only averaged a measly 5.1 points per game over the course of the year.
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At times, Ellington’s play was so disappointing that he became the dreaded “DNP-CD.” That’s not really acceptable for somebody being paid $8 million to stand on the perimeter and shoot threes for 15 minutes a game.
The question for the Knicks is whether or not Ellington’s decline in 2019-20 was a blip or a sign of things to come. Assuming the 2020-21 season starts in December at the earliest, Ellington will be 33 years old. 3-point shooting is typically one of the last skills to fall off, but if Ellington isn’t providing much else, that’s a scary prospect.
A $1 million guarantee for next season vested at the end of June, but the Knicks can otherwise avoid financial ruin by cutting ties with Ellington. In all likelihood, there will be a choice between Ellington and Reggie Bullock, which should favor the latter.