Kings Face Harsh Reality With Big Keon Ellis Decision

One of the biggest questions surrounding the Sacramento Kings coming into the season was what the future of Keon Ellis would hold. He finished last year as the starting guard and was poised for another leap in his fourth season under defensive head coach Doug Christie.

But instead, he's been the talk of the town as his minutes have been up and down, and he's been in and out of the lineup throughout the year. All signs have been point towards a breakup between the Kings and Ellis, and ESPN1302's James Ham spoke about it on The Insiders with James Ham & Kyle Madson, and said that it is almost assuredly going to be the case as the trade deadline approaches.

"Once the Kings decided to just pay him $2 million instead of $10 or $12, that did a lot of damage between him and the organization. And even if there were potential promises made about what we'll take care of you as soon as we can, which isn't until February 9th, that became a big deal. But then as the season's worn on, and he hasn't been playing consistently, and felt kind of left out, it's like at this point, you have to trade him because he is not signing back. He's not signing on February 9th and he's not signing this offseason. He's going to leave, almost assuredly."

That's a strong statement that means the Kings absolutely need to trade Ellis before the February 5th trade deadline. It's been reported that nearly half the league is interested in him, and the Kings are asking for a first-round pick. Even if it's a late first-rounder or future pick with protections, Scott Perry needs all the assets he can get.

If he's able to get either another young flyer in an unproven player or a first-round pick, he should jump on the opportunity, especially as Ellis appears to be on the outside looking in from a rotational standpoint as well.

Drop in Production