Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis played 13 minutes Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns. In the loss, Ellis scored 9 points on 4-5 from the field to go along with a steal and a rebound.
As the Suns gradually erased the Kings halftime lead in the third quarter, took over control in the fourth, and repeatedly attacked Malik Monk on defense, Ellis’ minute count on the stat sheet continued to be more glaring considering he is a guy who can help stop an opponent from taking over leads.
Following the loss, head coach Doug Christie was asked about Ellis’ minutes.
“Keon is an ultimate professional and he is always ready to play. In these situations, we have a logjam so it’s going to be whose playing, but his aggressiveness and his ability to knock down shots and his defensive ability – he’s going to be on the floor,” Christie said.
Ellis can knock down shots, which makes not getting more playing time even more perplexing.
Dude can shoot.
Last season, he shot 43% from three and 48% from the field. Him going 4/5 from the field on Wednesday against the Suns was yet another reminder that there isn’t a big offensive void when he is on the floor.
Which is why adding Russell Westbrook to this roster (even though yes, the team didn’t technically have a true, pure answer for the backup point guard start) makes little sense. Ellis needs floor time in a season where the writing was on the wall weeks ago about how this year’s campaign is going to end, and what really matters right now is the future beyond this current roster.
At practice Thursday Ellis said he is “upmost comfortable” in his role and that nothing that he wasn’t expecting is going on. He had this to say when asked about playing time and conversations he has had with Christie about it.
“There’s a lot of guards on the team, trying to figure things out. We added Russ late so we’re trying to figure out everything. How everything is going to look – rotations and minutes and all that. But whatever is going to happen is going to happen so whatever situation I am in, whenever I am in, the minutes, I just make the most of them and do what I do. That’s all I can do anyway. Don’t get upset about anything,” he said.
Ellis’s minutes have been oddly low going back to when Mike Brown was the head coach. But the mixed signal here with all of this is why did the Kings reportedly make Keegan Murray AND Ellis “off limits” in the trade talks over Jonathan Kuminga during the summer if he isn’t going to be a priority?
We’re already playing guard ball from the 1-4 positions at this point.
If the Kings want to be a defensive team like we heard all training camp and preseason, then it would make sense to play the defensive players.
And let’s just briefly review some lineup stats from last season, per Cleaning The Glass:
- The lineup with the best differential featured Keon Ellis
- The top SIX lineups in points per possession featured Keon Ellis
- The top FOUR lineups with the best effective field goal percentage featured Keon Ellis
- The lineup with the best turnover percentage featured Keon Ellis
- The top FOUR lineups with the best offensive rebound percentage featured Keon Ellis
- The lineup with the best free throw rate featured Keon Ellis
Now to defense:
- The lineup with the best points per possession allowed featured Keon Ellis
- The lineup with the best opponent effective field goal percentage featured Keon Ellis
- The top two lineups with the best turnover percentage featured Keon Ellis
Ellis needs minutes.
Let’s see how things land with his minutes tonight against the Utah Jazz, especially with the team even more short-handed with Nique Clifford injured.
#FreeKeon billboard?
Free Keon Or Fire Vivek (FK-OF-VIVEK)
If I had my choice? I don’t so that’s that.
I don’t really have room for a Keon Billboard, even if it is Free. Thanks though.
Never look a gift billboard in the mouth.
Not according to tech bro Vivek. Jersey sales and butts in seats means Westbrook needs minutes.
Really happy to see more and more people opening up to this perspective. It’s absolutely money over success in Kangz-land right now.
I don’t know who Keon has (or has not) slept with, but his lack of consistent core rotation playing time is beyond bizarre. If the Kings think that this is a way to keep his next contract value down, they are sadly mistaken. The league knows about this guy.
Maybe this is a subtle tank play. Ellis might win you a few games during the season, so don’t play him?
There are few things about this roster that I thoroughly enjoy right now. Keon Ellis is one of those things. The game is better when he is on the floor. And it’s so obvious, it is beyond reasonable explanation as to why it is not occurring.
Kangz.
Conspiracy theory! Keon spurned Anjali so daddy says Keon can’t play.
In Kangzworld, I don’t know if that is a conspiracy theory or just Tuesday.
Kings talky talk about this but constantly choose to do that.
I am so tired of hearing coaches preach defense or whatever. It’s just meaningless words.
We need defense do they keep Lavine and DDR, bring in Schroder who is average defensively at best, retain Monk, bring in Russ, bring in Saric, re-sign McDermott. Nothing there fits the defensive mindset of what Perry and Doug talked about.
The only thing I can think of is maybe there is something going on behind the scenes. Is he not well liked in the locker room? Does he play to his own drumbeat during practices? Is he not playing within Christie’s system?
All I know is that every measurable statistic says he should be getting 30+ minutes, and should even be a starter.
I’m not sure I buy this notion that the Kings need a “pure PG.” The offense cooks best when it runs through Sabonis, just like it does in Denver with Jokic. If the Kings need to pay a dude $14M (Schröder) just to bring the ball up past half court to give it to Sabonis, then something is off.
I had the notion that the Kings could have gone with a Keon and LaVine backcourt and could have gone after a wing “facilitator.” It may be crazy but I would have much preferred to give a make good contract to a guy like Ben Simmons over a nearly $20M combined in Dennis and Westbrook. I don’t care if Simmons can’t score. You wouldn’t need him to with guys like LaVine, Keon and Keegan spreading the floor.
Seeing as the issue with Keon went back to when Mike Brown was the coach, I don’t know if it is about fitting in to Doug’s system. If Keon was a problem in the locker room, teammates don’t like him, or he has some off-court issues (we have heard about none of those three things being an issue) then I could see them trying to move him sooner rather than later.
I also think of lineups that I would really like to see…Keon, Nique, Keegan, Domas, and a PG/wing distributor. That lineup has defense, 3pt shooting, ball movement and distribution. Defensively they would be able to switch more than they can with LaVine and DDR, and I don’t see the value that Schroder brings so far from the preseason and game 1.
This roster doesn’t make sense, the play style doesn’t fit the personnel, the minutes distribution is a total mess, they lack any semblance of cohesion on the court. It sucks. Everything about it sucks.
Nique, Keon, LaVine, Keegan, Domas would be my starting lineup.
Same.
We all know who runs the show. If I had a choice Vivek or Ellis. I don’t so that’s that.
It’s just so frustrating …
I hate the idea of let’s wait and see. See what? The front office had all last year to see what. Either they can’t trade anyone or they bow down the Vivek and somewhat he wants. Either way the Kings are going nowhere with the roster they have now. Those whom need to be traded are Monk, DDR, Carter maybe even Sabonis. If your trading Sabonis it needs to be soon. He is 29 and isn’t going to get younger. Therer are teams out there that need and want a player like Sabonis but if you wait until he is 30 or 31 his value goes down. Perry seems to be a good GM and he could get the results of a trade like a Sabonis and get a young player or two plus some draft picks. In order to get value you have to give up value.
If Doug isn’t going to play Keon then there are teams who would really want him as a player. You good get good value for him.
Sabonis has quickly become one of my favorite all time Kings, but I would trade him and anyone that has a shelf life of the next few years. This probably includes Murray, Ellis and perhaps even Clifford. You are simply not catching the elite of the West for the next several years, so you might as well take it down the studs at this point and start a complete rebuild. And you’re going to be so bad that you are likely to ruin any youngish players that are already on the roster. I say gut it.
The problem is, take too long to rebuild, and the empty seats start showing up. It will also obliterate jersey sales with no big “stars” to drive them.
Vivek will simply not allow either to happen – both affect his bottom line.
Right now, seats are full and jersey sales are high. What motivation does he have to do anything differently?
This is what drives me nuts, and though I hate phrasing it like this, in a roundabout way, I kind of blame the fans. Until they demand a winner by withholding their wallets, no owner will ever be incented to win here.
Love me some Sabonis as well. I don’t understand the rationale though for being willing to trade away Keegan, Ellis, and Clifford. They are 25, 25, and 23. Are they not the exact kind of players that you want to rebuild with? What would you expect in return? Better layers? That won’t happen. Draft picks? Just to try and replace the own good commodity that you know you have in hopes of trying to find a better one? Our wrap sheet says that is a crap shoot at beat. Out with the old and build around our youngins that have promise!
I disagree that Perry seems to be a good GM. He’s a middle manager who knows a lot of basketball cliches, not a leader and certainly not on the cutting edge of where basketball is heading.
he will lead you to basketball purgatory, nothing more or less.
Keon’s lack of PT is criminal. On what planet has ownership been on to not realize he is both a great defender and great shooter? He is the kind of player we should be filling our roster/stat sheet with, not near 37 year olds.
Lmao. Poor kid is a meme already. Definitely thought about the Kings when I first saw the clip.
my fear is that the King’s management will only realize how good Keon is once he is traded to another team, and then embarrasses his former team by torching them for 40 points when they meet up.
Keon is mentally done with the Kings. Ready for greener pastures.
Yeah tough to see how this franchise is ran…need to do the opposite George theory
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