After a disastrous trade cycle left Sacramento thin on defense, the versatile guard’s improved shooting and elite perimeter stopping could be the perfect remedy for the Kings' backcourt.
With Darius Acuff Jr. set to take over as the Sacramento Kings' lead guard and facilitator, the front office needs to start supplementing the roster with backcourt pieces to help the reigning SEC Player of the Year with his shortcomings.
While Acuff can fill it up with the best of them, he has some question marks defensively.
Enter former Kings guard Keon Ellis, who is exactly the type of player who could fit alongside Acuff, or serve as a defensive stopper off the bench.
Ellis played 48 games for Sacramento last season before being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in a move that has not yet paid dividends for the Kings.
The poor series of trades began after the Kings signed veteran point guard Dennis Schroeder to a lucrative three-year deal worth nearly $45 million last offseason.
Veteran point guard Russell Westbrook took over Schroeder's minutes and Sacramento shipped out Schroeder to the Cavs, his 11th team.
The bleeding didn't stop there as the Kings had to add additional incentive for a team to take on Schroeder's contract, bundling in Ellis.
After arriving in Cleveland, Ellis played seven minutes more per game, increasing all his scoring, rebounding and assist numbers while shooting nearly 10 percentage points higher than he did with the Kings.
Ellis has also taken on a large role defensively, averaging 1.4 steals and 1.1 blocks per game.
In return, Sacramento acquired former No. 4 overall pick Deandre Hunter. Hunter showed extreme regression this year, averaging only 14 points per game on career-worst 30.5-percent shooting from 3-point range.
After arriving in Sacramento, he played just two games before suffering a season-ending eye injury.
The move for Hunter seemed like a last ditch effort for the Kings to cover their tracks from all of the poor moves they made this offseason.
ESPN contributor Zach Kram ranked this sequence of deals as the sixth worst move since the NBA offseason, with his solution being to trade Hunter for picks at the next deadline if he "finally fulfills his 3-and-D potential in a sustained way next season."
But, with Ellis entering free agency, and commanding a relatively team-friendly value on the market, reuniting with the former undrafted free agent could be a full-circle moment.
Ellis' defensive ability and improvements as a 3-point shooter would fit nicely on the Kings' new-look roster, especially if the front office deals one of their aging veterans.
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