Report: Lakers sign Dwight Howard, Wayne Ellington in free agency
The Los Angeles Lakers have added two more free agents who were interested in joining the team again.
The first player returning is Wayne Ellington, who just played with the Detroit Pistons and was reportedly interested in signing with L.A. a few days before the free-agent market opened.
Dwight Howard is another player returning to the Lakers after playing a pivotal part in the 2020 championship run. Howard, who spent last season with the Philadelphia 76ers, reportedly was ready to return to Los Angeles for the third time in his career.
The Ellington signing was reported by Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports; the Howard move was reported by both Shams Charania of The Athletic and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN at the same exact time:
Free agent guard Wayne Ellington Jr. has reached an agreement with the Los Angeles Lakers on a one-year deal, his agent Mark Bartelstein of @PrioritySports tells @YahooSports.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) August 2, 2021
Ellington made over 42 percent of his threes last season in Detroit on over six attempts a game, providing L.A. with the high-volume 3-point shooting that will pair well alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook.
Howard is still a solid rebounding center who knows his role on the offensive end; he has the ability to play alongside Davis in certain lineups and will bestow the vertical threat L.A. desperately needed last season.
The two join Trevor Ariza as players who have signed with the Lakers, though Alex Caruso is departing to the Chicago Bulls.
