NBA Mock Trade: Kings Help Rockets Fill Void After Fred VanVleet Injury

Does this make sense for Houston?

VanVleet was not only a steadying presence on offense for Houston, but he was also one of their better defenders. 

Losing VanVleet likely thrusts Reed Sheppard into the starting lineup after seeing very little time on the court last season as a rookie. Sheppard only played 12.6 minutes per game last season, but he has the potential to turn into one of the best shooters in the NBA. It was expected that Sheppard would start to see some more time on the court, but things change very fast in the NBA. 

After trading for Kevin Durant, Houston likely expects to compete for a championship and will need to replace at least some of what VanVleet brought to the squad.

Keon Ellis isn’t a one-to-one replacement for VanVleet by any means. VanVleet is much more of a true point guard, while Ellis is much more comfortable as an off guard. The caveat to this is that Houston has Durant, Amen Thompson, and even Alperen Sengun, who can all handle the duty of initiating the Rockets’ offense. 

Having a true point guard would be ideal, but Ellis could fill the hole that VanVleet left on defense easily, while being a better spot-up shooter. Ellis shot 43% on catch-and-shoot triples last season, which would provide a ton of spacing for Durant, Thompson, and Sengun to go to work. On the other end, the combination of Ellis and Thompson would be a nightmare for opposing offenses.

If I’m Rockets GM Rafael Stone, this is a deal I jump on, but it isn’t so cut and dry for Scott Perry and the Kings front office. 

Does This Make Sense for Sacramento?

It’s a given that the Kings need wing help, but parting with Ellis shouldn’t be something Sacramento is excited to do. Ellis is easily the Kings' best defender, and he may be the second-best shooter behind Zach LaVine. 

On any other team, I would argue that Ellis is the better player than Eason, and the Kings shouldn’t even entertain this deal. However, the Kings have no easy path to giving Ellis the minutes he deserves. 

LaVine and Dennis Schröder are cemented as the starting guards for the Kings, and behind them sit Malik Monk, Devin Carter, Nique Clifford, and Ellis. Ellis is a better player than Carter and Clifford at this point in their careers, but he is older, and the other two are under team control for at least the next two seasons. 

Losing Ellis would definitely hurt, but Eason would be a great fit on the Kings. He’s 6-foot-8, defends at a very high level, and has been an above league-average shooter each of his years in the league. He’s not the spot-up shooter Ellis is, but at 34.5% for his career, Eason isn’t someone teams can help off of behind the line. 

Eason’s numbers from last year are solid, but his per-36-minute stats show his potential as a starting-caliber wing in the NBA. Adjusted to 36 minutes of action, Eason averaged 17.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 3.8 stocks (steals/blocks) per game. Another worthwhile callout is that Tari shot nearly 38% on wide-open threes, which he would see a lot of playing with scorers like LaVine and DeRozan. 

Eason may not ever turn into a high-volume scorer, but the Kings would never need him to be that with their current roster. 

Should the Kings Make the Call?

Taking into account their ages, contract situation, and skillsets, this would be a smart business decision for Scott Perry and the Kings. Eason will be a restricted free agent next summer, while Ellis will be unrestricted if Sacramento doesn’t extend him during the season. Eason is also younger, fills a bigger need, and the combination of Carter and Clifford should be enough to ease the pain of the Kings trading their best perimeter defender. 

Ellis may be the better player than Eason right now, but the gap between them isn’t large enough for Sacramento to not jump on a deal like this.