After a disappointing showing from De'Andre Hunter in the first half of the season, the Cleveland Cavaliers dealt him to the Sacramento Kings for Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder to deepen their roster and address some important needs.

Schroder was an extra ball-handler and a veteran presence, while Ellis brought a gritty, nasty approach to pressuring opponents defensively. Both did that in their debuts for the team, and the latter lived up to his reputation as an absolute hounding presence on that end of the ball. 

Cavs head coach Kenny Atkinson was comfortable sending Ellis out there for extended minutes and allowed him to play with more freedom. He felt there was more to his game than just being a spot-up shooter, so he utilized his talents in transition and had him attacking off the dribble more than he did with the Kings. 

Ellis drew six starts for the Wine and Gold, and he averaged 25 minutes a night in the 29 games he suited up in post-trade deadline. Unfortunately for him, that playing time went away quickly when the playoffs arrived.

The most Ellis played was 16 minutes in the last game of the postseason, and that was essentially because the New York Knicks were mopping the floor with Cleveland in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

He didn't play up to par, but he was relegated to being a break-glass-in-case-of-emergency type of player in the postseason. Ellis registered six DNP-CDs in 18 games and averaged just seven minutes per game, as Atkinson favored Sam Merrill, Max Strus, Dean Wade, and Jaylon Tyson at the 3 ahead of him.

REGULAR SEASON STATS

8.3 POINTS | 2.8 REBOUNDS | 1.6 ASSISTS | 49.1% FG | 35.5% 3PT | 81.6% FT

PLAYOFF STATS

1.6 POINTS | 1.2 REBOUNDS | 0.3 ASSISTS | 33.3% FG | 35.7% 3PT | 80.0% FT

Ellis is set to hit unrestricted free agency this summer, and it remains to be seen whether or not the Cavs decide to bring him back. 

With a room full of 6-foot-4 and 6-foot-5 swingmen, including combo rookie Meleek Thomas entering the fold, it might not be surprising to see Cleveland let Ellis go.

With that said, we know how much Atkinson likes his multi-guard lineups, so it could swing either way. He could've shot the ball a little better, but Ellis is a solid specialist who can help any team that requires his skill set.

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