With a much overdue rebuild on the horizon for the Sacramento Kings, the team has made it clear that they are open for business on basically the entire roster. Except for a few players, of course. One name who likely should be on the no-trade list is Keon Ellis, and no one really knows why he isn't.
This point had been made about the Kings over and over again because it's so disturbingly true. Their roster is grossly imbalanced toward shoot-first players, primarily guards, who are bad at defense. Even worse, Sacramento doesn't even have that good of an offense. It's a rough situation.
Not enough? It's a problem that has plagued the franchise for years, mostly because the co-owner and former front office seemed obsessed with a certain type of player. Now, the current front office has no cap space to work with and the crushing weight of massive contracts on top of them.
The rebuild is important, but it will take years to work through. In the meantime, it's as important for the front office to know who not to trade as it is who to trade. Players like Keegan Murray, Nique Clifford, and Maxime Raynaud are definitely no-trades. Keon Ellis should be, too.
Sacramento would be better with Keon Ellis
The Kings have one of the oldest teams in the league, and are severely lacking on defense. That's why the focus of the rebuild is bringing in younger players who play defense, which is a borderline perfect description of Keon Ellis. After Keegan Murray, Ellis is arguably the next best defender on the team.
Yet, it increasingly seems like Ellis is a likely trade option for the Kings. Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, and Zach LaVine are also high-priority trades, but their suitors are limited at best. Half the league is reputedly interested in Keon Ellis, and for good reason.
In last night's loss to the Suns, Keon put up six points, two rebounds, one assist, three steals, and three blocks. Those numbers don't seem huge, but Ellis had a third of the team's steals and half of their blocks. If the Kings give him the minutes and the right lines, he delivers.
The crazy part about all of this is that the Kings seem to want to trade Keon Ellis to get a player like Keon Ellis. If the organization feels they have gone as far as they can go with him, it is what it is. At the same time, this is a guy they should be putting at the foundations of the rebuild alongside Murray,