Former Sacramento King Keon Ellis is on the move again, and this time the destination is Brooklyn.
Ellis, who had a brief stop with the Cleveland Cavaliers, has now signed a two-year, $18 million deal with the Nets. The catch is obvious: Brooklyn is already packed with guards, and Ellis enters a backcourt that now includes 12 guards, some of them free agents. That kind of crowding makes his long-term fit feel shaky right away.
Ellis was a favorite in Sacramento, where fans would chant for him by name until head coach Doug Christie finally put him in. Sometimes Christie did, and sometimes he simply ignored the noise and kept Ellis on the bench. It made for a strange stretch for Kings fans, especially because Sacramento had been searching for reliable 3&D help and Ellis fit that profile.
That disconnect helps explain why his exit wasn’t a shock. At the trade deadline, the Kings sent Ellis and Dennis Schroder to Cleveland in exchange for De'Andre Hunter.
The same deal also sent Dario Saric to the Bulls, then the Pistons, and then to Europe, effectively ending his NBA career. He's not upset about that at all.
Ellis spent the final part of the regular season and the playoffs with the Cavaliers, but he didn’t see much action. His minutes were limited during the regular season, and in the playoffs he spent most of his time on the bench. By the end of the season, he was a free agent.
Now Brooklyn has him, but the question is how long that lasts. The Nets may have to clear space before their guard logjam becomes a bigger problem, and if they decide they need to reshape the roster, Ellis could end up as trade capital again. For now, though, he’s in position to try to carve out a real role on a team that clearly has more guards than spots.
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The hope now is that Darius Acuff Jr. becomes part of the next wave, but even that comes with the usual summer uncertainty. The 2026 first-round pick has flashed enough to keep attention on him, yet his Summer League play has been uneven, which only adds to the sense that Sacramento is still searching for a clear path back to relevance. [Read more 🡒]
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One Rookie Just Put Pistons Fans On Notice In Vegas
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One Sacramento rookie, the No. 45 pick, led the way with a game-high 21 points while adding defensive disruption and taking care of the ball, a useful sign for a player trying to carve out a role quickly. The Kings also had another summer league performance worth noting in a separate win over Orlando, where a different young player filled the box score with scoring, rebounding and rim protection, giving the front office a little more to track as the summer rolls on. [Read more 🡒]