Utah Jazz: Five free agent options at shooting guard

Wayne Ellington

As much as the Utah Jazz hang their hat on defense, shooting continues to be at a premium in their bid to improve. In that regard, there may be no better option than The Man with the Golden Arm, Wayne Ellington.

Ellington set a new record for 3-pointers made by a reserve player last season, connecting on 227 triples for the year. He did so by becoming almost exclusively a 3-point shooter, taking an incredible 83 percent of his shots from distance for an average of 7.5 attempts per game.

Despite the massive uptick, he continued to flirt with a 40 percent success rate. He was deadly in both corners, but knocked down 37 percent of his threes above the break where he does most of his work (and where the Jazz could really use some help).

Bottom line — his gravity at the 3-point line puts him in rarefied air. And Ellington could put up similar numbers in Quin Snyder’s system.

The bugaboo on Ellington has always been his defense, but the energy is usually there. And he’s definitely shown signs of improvement with the Miami Heat over the last few years. His defensive win shares and defensive box plus/minus have both improved every year since the 2014-15 campaign.

Overall, the Heat allowed just 103.9 points per 100 possessions when he was on the floor, which is at least respectable.

After years of bouncing around the league, Ellington seemingly found a home in Miami. However, the Heat are facing luxury tax problems and keeping him in South Beach will be a challenge. That could give the Jazz an opportunity to swoop in and secure his services.

Next: Joe Harris