As much as it pains basketball junkies to admit, trade discussions don’t fully materialize until all teams start laying their proverbial cards on the table. If and when teams begin to fissure, trade ideas are what begin to leak out. Trade season doesn’t officially begin until team managers are either grinning or sweating, with a marked emphasis on the latter.
One such team that seems to fall squarely in the sweating category is the Sacramento Kings. Despite numerous attempts to get over the hump, either by tangible monetary investment or significant roster retooling, the Kings have made the playoffs once in the last 19 years. That lone berth occurred two seasons ago, when they lost in round one.
It may be time for Sacramento to either embark on another lengthy rebuild or shake the current roster up a bit. Whichever degree of restructuring the Kings have in mind, the Blazers should make headway into the dust and snatch out Keon Ellis sooner rather than later.
Why the Blazers should target Keon Ellis
Having seen ten Blazers contests this season, one thing jumps out above all else: Portland needs shooters. Unsurprisingly, the Blazers are 24th in 3-point percentage despite attempting the fifth-most in the NBA. Just one team has a greater disparity in those departments—the Boston Celtics. As Boston has Jayson Tatum on deck, the Blazers have the greatest need in the NBA.
The numbers only tell half of the story; Portland desperately needs shooters to sustain the type of offense it spent the offseason crafting. The halfcourt offense isn’t great, but even narrowing the field to pull-up 3-point percentage has the Blazers rising just five spots to number 19. For a team with such a potent transition offense, the shooting is a real boondoggle.
Keon Ellis has never shot below 40 percent from beyond the arc since he’s been in the NBA. Last season, he shot that exact mark from three in transition, a full seven percentage points above the Blazers as a whole.
His defense is markedly above average as well; he ranked fourth in the entire league in STL% last year, behind just Dyson Daniels, Kris Dunn and Cason Wallace. For reference, Toumani Camara ranked 16th.
STL% is an advanced stat that tells you the percentage of defensive possessions that end with the player in question getting a steal. Dyson Daniels recorded a historic season in the steals category, and he unsurprisingly led the league in this stat with 4.2, but Ellis wasn’t far behind with 3.0. Again, for reference, Toumani Camara’s STL% was 2.2.
Adding to the Ellis campaign is his extremely low salary at just a hair over $2.3 million. His contract expires after this year, at which point he becomes an unrestricted free agent. Sacramento may be willing to let him go for a paltry sum if they decide to stay the course, or they may be enticed by a low draft pick in case of total demolition.
Either way, the Blazers should be at the front of the line for his services.