The Phoenix Suns should take a look at Henry Ellenson

The trade deadline buzzer sounded and now it’s buyout season. One player just waived is exactly the type of chance the Phoenix Suns should take.

When the Phoenix Suns traded Ryan Anderson to the Miami Heat for Tyler Johnson, they also acquired Wayne Ellington. He was waived and will sign with the Detroit Pistons, who in order to open a roster spot to sign him, waived a young player that Phoenix should take a look at.

Henry Ellenson isn’t a star by any means, nor has he even shown that much promise in the NBA. However, he hasn’t really received that much of a chance either. He’s played behind star caliber players in Tobias Harris and Blake Griffin, which hasn’t left too many available minutes of playing time. In addition, the head coaches in Detroit throughout his career have opted to play veterans behind those two standouts. Players like Jon Leuer, Anthony Tolliver and Zaza Pachulia have been ahead of him in the rotation.

Phoenix Suns

This is Ellenson’s third season in the league and he’s played in a total of 59 games, averaging 3.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 8.5 minutes per game. He’s 36% from the field and made 32 threes on 32.7% accuracy. After a very underwhelming summer league and preseason, the Pistons ultimately have decided to move on from him.

That doesn’t mean the power forward doesn’t deserve a chance on another team, maybe as a flier on a team whose season is lost and has a weakness at the position he plays. The Phoenix Suns don’t have much left to play for this season and he’d have a lot more of a chance here than he did in Detroit. The Suns need to take a look at guys like Henry to see if maybe they can provide something for them and if a fresh start will bring out his game.

He was the 18th pick in the 2016 NBA Draft for a reason – teams saw something in him. He was a one-and-done at Marquette, where he averaged 17 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He has a nice blend of size and skill in a 6-foot-11, 245-pound package.

He’s an excellent ball handler for a big man as he has the ability to grab a defensive rebound and go coast to coast or facilitate the fast break. How many guys as big as him do you see doing that?

He does fairly well at getting to the low post and the free throw line and is a fierce competitor. His three point shooting could use improvement but he’s shown the ability to be a stretch four.

In 31 games in the G League throughout his young career, he’s had a 41-34-82 shooting line, made 2 triples per game and averaged 18.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and 0.9 blocks.

While being a decent shot blocker in college and the G League, he hasn’t been able to put that skill towards the NBA as he’s had a single block in 500 minutes. Another negative for him is that, unfortunately, his athleticism and explosiveness are way below the standard for a modern NBA player.

Remember that line earlier stating he hasn’t had much of a chance to show what he can do? He’s only played 15 minutes or more in 14 NBA games but when he did he showed that he can be a decent player. In those games, he shot 38% from downtown, made 1.5 triples per game and averaged 10.5 points and 5.4 rebounds in 19.9 minutes.

If he can be coached well, taught to use his smarts and develop that three point shot more then he can carve a role in this league. The Suns would be wise to take a chance on him and see what he can do in purple and orange. The front office in Phoenix should offer him a 10-day contract and go from there.