New York Knicks: Pros and Cons of bringing Wayne Ellington back

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – JANUARY 16: Damyean Dotson #21 of the New York Knicks celebrates his three point shot in the first half against the Phoenix Suns at Madison Square Garden on January 16, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

Con: Consuming Playing Time

It remains unclear what recently-hired team president Leon Rose is going to do to rebuild the New York Knicks. What’s undeniable, however, is that the Knicks have a promising young core that has the potential to develop into a postseason-caliber unit.

If the objective continues to be embracing the youth movement, then bringing Wayne Ellington back may not be the most advisable move.

Ellington isn’t a player who would necessarily take touches away from players—we’ll get there—but he would consume minutes. That could be disproven by his erratic playing time in 2020-21, but retaining his contract would imply a desire to utilize him more consistently.

That could prove to be a negative for the young wings whom the Knicks should be attempting to develop into consistent contributors with steady rotational roles.

The victims of the veteran-heavy minutes distribution in 2019-20 were Damyean Dotson, who rode the pine despite his strong quality of play, and Allonzo Trier, who hasn’t been able to buy consistency in his role. One could even mention Ignas Brazdeikis, who remains in the G League.

If the Knicks opt to bring Ellington back for the 2020-21 season, it could be yet another example of younger players who need in-game experience falling behind veterans in the rotation.