MIAMI – With the Detroit Pistons at Kaseya Center To face the Miami Heat on Tuesday night, NBA life truly came full circle for Wayne Ellington and Delon Wright.
Teammates at one time with the Pistons and now in a coach-player partnership with the Heat, Ellington and Wright both reflected nostalgically on the 2020-21 season they spent in Detroit.
For Ellington, it was the best shooting season of his career.
For Wright, it was a step toward playing more as a point guard.
“I really, really enjoyed it,” Ellington said with a smile. “It’s funny, we talk about it all the time. I was probably having the best of my career with him as a leader.
“So obviously, I really enjoyed that.”
Ellington, who played one more season before his playing career ended in 2021-22 with the Los Angeles Lakers, said he saw many of the skills that could help the Heat then now, especially with the Kyle Lowry trade and with Josh Richardson facing an extended absence with a dislocated shoulder.
“He’s a pass rusher, a playmaker, a defender, a smart player, so I thought we complemented each other really well,” Ellington, 36, said.
Two years after this partnership, Ellington contacted Heat coach Erik Spoelstra to continue coaching. This was his first season in this role, found every evening sitting behind the Heat bench.
Then, after the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline, the 31-year-old Wright requested and received a buyout from the Washington Wizards, with two of those reunion games also being re-titled on the Heat’s schedule.
“He’s still a similar player,” Ellington said of their years playing together. “Obviously he’s more experienced now.”
Although playing time was limited, especially with Terry Rozier returning earlier than expected from what initially appeared to be a concerning knee sprain, Wright’s opportunities were limited.
But Ellington said he’s seen enough to remember the two-way contributor Wright could still be during this playoff run.
“He’s someone who’s really disruptive on the defensive end of the floor,” Ellington said.
Wright said Ellington was a mentor then and remains a mentor now.
“When I played with him, he was later in his career,” said Wright, the brother of former Heat forward Dorell Wright. “He was one of those guys who helped the younger guys, guys like me. »
This facilitated the transition from a player-player relationship to a game-coach relationship.
“So it’s not too weird,” Wright said.
This made the transition easier, with Wright in the second week of his Heat tenure.
“If I want to make a transition in the middle of a season,” Wright said, “Miami was probably the best place to do it, for obvious reasons. And just the culture here, there’s so much I can say.
So, yeah, let’s go back to it, like the old days — Tuesday night against the Pistons instead of with the Pistons, when they did their damage together in a different way, as shown in the following recap from Associated Press from a match this season:
“DETROIT – Delon Wright scored a career-high 28 points and Wayne Ellington had another impressive shooting night for Detroit, leading the Pistons to a 119-104 victory over the Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia 76ers , Monday.”
That night in January 2021, Wright said of his then-teammate and now-coach: “We’re going to keep giving him the ball. He’s an excellent shooter. He helps our offense unfold.
Ellington said he was seeing a Heat game because he experienced a game with Detroit.
“I really enjoyed playing with him,” he said. “He was the leader who set the table. I would have him among the top four point guards I’ve played with in my career.
Impressive, considering the point guards Ellington played with during his 13 NBA seasons included Kyrie Irving, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Goran Dragic, Ricky Rubio and many others.
So Delon Wright instead of which of these?
It was then that Ellington smiled wryly.
“I have to get back to you on this,” he said as he walked away after a Heat practice.
