With the trade deadline passing, the NBA will now see a number of prominent veterans being bought out of their contracts.
On Wednesday, the Miami Heat traded Tyler Johnson and Wayne Ellington to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for Ryan Anderson, with Phoenix planning to waive the veteran shooter. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports that Ellington will sign with the Detroit Pistons after clearing waivers.
After clearing waivers today, guard Wayne Ellington will officially sign with the Detroit Pistons, league sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 9, 2019
Wojnarowski also noted that the Pistons, back in action on Monday against the Wizards (7 p.m. ET -- watch on fuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension), has committed $2.4 million for the rest of the season on Ellington, who was one of the top players on the open market alongside Wesley Matthews and Enes Kanter.
The sharpshooting guard was on a one-year deal with the Heat after spending the past three seasons with the franchise. In 25 games this season, Ellington was averaging 8.4 points and 1.9 rebounds while knocking down 36.8 percent of his shots from beyond the arc. Ellington has been on his fair share of teams, including the Brooklyn Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, Lakers, Memphis Grizzlies and Minnesota Timberwolves in addition to Miami.
Ellington likely had several potential suitors with the Lakers having an open roster spot and his hometown Philadelphia 76ers potentially looking to bolster their bench. However, now Ellington will try to help the Pistons grab one of the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
