Midseason report card: Grading every Kings player’s performance at the All-Star Break 

Sasha Vezenkov

There was plenty of excitement around the Kings signing Sasha Vezenkov over the summer. Fans envisioned the sharpshooter to have an immediate impact, but it has been rather rough. 

Not accustomed to the NBA game yet, Vezenkov struggled defensively and often found himself on the bench. Nevertheless, he showed great potential with his off-ball movement, shot, and effort but just when he seemed to have a spot in the rotation secured, he went down with an ankle injury. 

Vezenkov will probably miss a few weeks now, and there is no telling if he will be able to impact the rest of the regular season. 

Grade: C

Keon Ellis

Few fans had high expectations for Keon Ellis going into the season, but he managed to break the rotation, play solid minutes, and earn a standard NBA contract. For him, this season is already a win. 

From the Kings’ perspective, his season has been solid so far. Ellis was a big part of the Kings surviving De’Aaron Fox’s absence early in the season, and his emergence gave them another young prospect who can play defense.

His biggest game was definitely against the Thunder in December when he put up 17 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, and 1 steal in a 128-123 win. Ellis certainly exceeded expectations, but lately, he lost (some) minutes to Davion Mitchell and hasn’t had much of an impact. 

Grade: B

Kessler Edwards

Grading Kessler Edwards’ season is tough simply because he has barely played. He is a great defender, but Mike Brown doesn’t trust him offensively yet, and he seldom plays outside of garbage time. 

Edwards had some solid outings, however, like his 10-point performance against the Timberwolves when Keegan Murray was out but he never managed to jump into the rotation, like we have seen Keon Ellis do. 

Grade: C-