Getty Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Wayne Ellington.
Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Wayne Ellington has decided to retire from the NBA at 35. However, he’s not stepping away from basketball.
The Miami Heat announced in a September 29 X post that Ellington will be joining the team as a Player Development Coach.
He’s now the “Coach with the Golden Arm” 👌
@WayneEllington has officially joined the Miami HEAT staff as a Player Development Coach. Congrats, Wayne!
Ellington previously spent three seasons with the Heat from 2016 to 2019 and played under current head coach Erik Spoelstra. He is a career 38.2% shooter from three so he’ll bring some value as a coach who can help with shooting.
Ellington last played for the Lakers in the 2021-22 season but didn’t land with a team last season. He also had a stint in Los Angeles during the 2014-15 season. While he remained a strong shooter throughout most of his career, his struggles on defense made it difficult for him to stick on a roster toward the end.
The Heat have one of the strongest coaching staffs in the NBA so Ellington is an optimal place to learn that side of the business.
LeBron James Suggests He Won’t Be Retiring Soon
Wayne Ellington is three years younger than former teammate LeBron James but it doesn’t look like the Lakers star has plans on slowing down. James was recently asked about why he decided against retiring this offseason and gave an interesting answer.
“I feel like I got a lot more in the tank to give,” James said during the Lakers’ October 2 media day.
James is entering his 21st season in the NBA and will be turning 39 in December. While he says that he has juice left in the tank, the four-time NBA champion wouldn’t say whether or not this would be his final season.
“No, I can’t, because I don’t know,” James said. “I’m happy right now. I’m excited. I’m looking forward to tomorrow and getting training camp going and getting going. But I don’t know what the end of this road looks like, or at the end of the season. I have no idea.”
James is at the stage of his career where the desire to retire could strike at any time. He clearly still loves playing basketball right now but that could change if the Lakers struggled. Fortunately, the Lakers are well-positioned to have a strong season after reaching the Western Conference Finals last year and bringing back much of the same core of players.
LeBron James Discusses Foot Injury
Last year, LeBron James dealt with a nagging foot injury that lingered all season. There was talk of him getting surgery to repair it but he hasn’t disclosed whether or not he went through with it.
While it’s unclear if he got surgery, James made it clear that he’s been putting a lot of focus on getting his foot in a good place this offseason.
“This summer has been a lot about rehabbing that and getting that back to where it needs to be,” James said. “But my foot has been reacting very well on my offseason workouts. Looking forward to seeing how it reacts during training camp and all preseason going into the regular season. Excited to see where I am as it stands today.”
James’ foot could make or break the Lakers’ season.