Every other team in the league seems to see something in Keon Ellis. The only one who doesn't is, for some reason, the Sacramento Kings. They keep refusing to give him what he needs to develop properly, and that is minutes. Without time on the court, he's going to stay at the level he's at.
The fans in the stands at Golden 1 Center are perpetually perplexed about the status of Ellis. He's a fan favorite player with a huge upside, particularly on defense. And this Kings' roster is in desperate need of good defensive players. It's supposedly head coach Doug Christie's focus.
Yet, Ellis struggles to get regular minutes in the rotation. It's been a regular occurrence that he doesn't get in the game until the fourth quarter, often by the point a win is out of reach. Even then, his time is limited. He got a grand total of four minutes and 13 seconds against the Pistons last night.
Ellis is one of the players the Kings have earmarked to trade as part of their rebuild process. They are on the hunt for young 3&D players to build the roster around. The crazy part is that Ellis is literally a young 3&D player the rest of the league is interested in, and they will give him minutes.
Ellis leaving the Kings will look bad in the long term
Apparently, the problem is Doug Christie, who reportedly doesn't want to play Ellis for some reason. The front office loves Ellis and wants to keep him on the roster. But if the coach isn't going to play Keon, they should find him a new team that will give him the chance to grow and develop.
In his just over four minutes on the court in the loss to Detroit, Keon took two shots, missed them both, and collected one rebound. It's hard to stay ready when you never get the chance to get ready. Ellis needs regular time on the court to clean up his shot and build his defensive presence.
Christie haphazardly throws Ellis in on slapdash lines that don't complement his skill set, giving him random minutes in every game. In their overtime loss to the Blazers, he played 30+ minutes, collecting 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, and six steals. When given the chance, he delivers.
Despite that, Ellis has seen his minutes consistently decline in each of the three games since that performance. Without regular time in the rotation, Eliis will never be the player the Kings need him to be. Hopefully, the front office can trade him to a team that will actually put him to work.