Former Alabama basketball guard Keon Ellis has scratched and carved his way into a legitimate NBA role player. After going undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft, Ellis signed with the Sacramento Kings on a two-way contract.
After spending a couple of seasons on that deal, he earned a standard NBA contract and was one of the most sought-after 3-and-D guards at the trade deadline due to his ability to impact games defensively and knock down three-pointers.
An impending free agent, Ellis has the opportunity to shine and earn a big contract this offseason after being traded on Saturday.
The Kings, who sit in last place in the Western Conference, traded Ellis, along with Dennis Schroder, to the Cleveland Cavaliers for DeAndre Hunter.
Keon Ellis traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers in multi-player deal
The Cavaliers sit in 5th place in a wide-open Eastern Conference, and Ellis will solve a lot of the problems that have Cleveland further down in the standings than most predicted. Despite his struggles shooting this season, Ellis has still been one of the most impactful defensive players in the NBA, even with an inconsistent role with Sacramento.
After back-to-back seasons of shooting 41% or better from three, Ellis is at 36.8% this season. But he's also played seven minutes less per game this year than a year ago, and should walk into a much more consistent role with the Cavaliers. If he can get his three-point shooting to creep back toward 40%, Ellis could be a pivotal piece in Cleveland's chase for an Eastern Conference crown.
To this day, Ellis is one of the best evaluations for Nate Oats as a college basketball coach. Ellis came to Alabama from JUCO with limited D-1 offers and turned into an excellent player across two seasons in Tuscaloosa.
Ellis was a critical piece off the bench for Alabama's SEC Championship team in 2020-21, and then started 33 games in 2021-22, while averaging over 12 points and nearly two steals per game.