OKC Thunder must have Miami’s Wayne Ellington in its crosshairs

With the Miami Heat actively seeking a trade for Wayne Ellington, the OKC Thunder must be aggressive to acquire the sharpshooting guard.

If the OKC Thunder were ever to acquire a sharpshooting guard then now is the time to do. Discussions have taken place between the Miami Heat and Wayne Ellington‘s representatives regarding a trade for the man with the golden arm. While interest is bound to be strong for the 30-year-old, the Heat are looking to move him without taking back salary.

Kelly Iko of the Athletic broke the report early Tuesday morning.

"“It’s no secret that Ellington is unhappy with his current role with the Heat. In fact, his representatives met with Miami over this issue, seeking a resolution,” Iko wrote. “Per sources, the problem with trying to deal for Ellington is that Miami doesn’t really want to take back salary.”"

While Pat Riley has yet to corroborate the rumor, it makes sense given the Heat’s desire to get under the luxury tax. There are only five Traded Player Exceptions (TPE) available throughout the league who can absorb Ellington’s $6.27-million-dollar deal and Oklahoma City possess one of them.

Below is the list of teams with TPE’s greater than $6.27-million and whether these teams would target Ellington in a deal.

Denver Nuggets

• $13,764,045 (Wilson Chandler to Philadelphia)
• $12,800,562 (Kenneth Faried to Brooklyn)

The Denver Nuggets hold the two largest TE’s but have worked hard last offseason to keep its payroll in check. Denver is second in the Western Conference with a logjam of young talent at the wing spot and has no real need for outside shooting as they rank 10th overall in 3-point percentage (35.8).

Oklahoma City Thunder

• $10,883,189 (Carmelo Anthony to Atlanta for Dennis Schroder)

Deemed one of the most underrated deals of last seasons free agency, the Thunder were able to move a disgruntled Carmelo Anthony for Hawks star Dennis Schroder. The German has since become a critical piece of Oklahoma City’s championship aspirations coming off the bench while Anthony is set to be a part of his fifth team in a year and a half.

Charlotte Hornets

• $7,819,725 (Dwight Howard to Brooklyn)

Charlotte elected to move on from Dwight Howard after a mixed season with Micheal Jordan’s team. The Hornets currently hold the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference and are actively looking for trades to upgrades its roster.

However, Charlotte is rumored to be seeking rim protection as opposed to 3-point shooting. The team shoots the ball at a solid 35.8 percent clip (11th) and has no real need for Ellington’s particular skill set.

Detroit Pistons

• $7,000,000  (Boban Marjanovic to the Los Angeles Clippers)

The Pistons could do with some shooting from the outside as they rank dead last in 3-point percentage (32.6). However, they have serious salary cap concerns and sit in ninth spot, two games behind Charlotte for eighth.

After a solid start to the year, Detroit has fallen off a cliff and must decide whether they are competing for the playoffs now or target next season.

Heating up from distance

While OKC has been the worst 3-point shooting team for the majority of this season, they have caught fire from the perimeter landing triples at a high rate. OKC have shot:

• 40.9 percent in their last five contests (7th)
• 38.4 percent in their last 10 (10th)
• 35.6 percent in their last 15 (16th)

Oklahoma City is doing a much better job passing to guys who can actually make the shots instead of throwing them up for the sake of it. Below are the individual shooting splits from the team since Christmas.

OKC are yet to prove these percentages on the biggest stages but this is a tremendous sign

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moving forward as the squad has wallowed around 31 percent a bulk of the season.

Presti must act now

The Thunder has been in the market for a marksman for quite some time and despite the team’s overall improvement from distance, need a reliable source of 3-pointers.

While Terrance Ferguson, Patrick Patterson, Abdel Nader, and Paul George have all found their footing firing from range, one can’t help but feel the team needs one more shooter. With no timetable set for Alex Abrines, Oklahoma City need to be active now.

With the man with the golden arm available in exchange for no returning salary, the deal seems like a no-brainer.