Keon Ellis is the name everyone has known should be available and there for the taking for any NBA franchise in need of 3-and-D help. The Los Angeles Lakers certainly fit that category. However, so do a ton of other teams around the league.
Sam Amick of The Athletic provided a thorough breakdown of recent NBA rumors that have crossed his path. The NBA insider offered some vital information on the potential Lakers target ahead of the looming trade deadline that is set to arrive on Feb. 5.
Amick wrote, "League and team sources say the [Sacramento] Kings continue to draw serious interest in veteran guard Keon Ellis, with approximately 10 teams in pursuit of the 26-year-old. A deal is almost certain to go down before the Feb. 5 deadline, if not much sooner."
With that many teams lining up for Ellis, what would it take for the Kings to budge and trade their two-way guard? Amick's sources suggested a late first-round could get the job done. The question then becomes which of the potential trade suitors blinks first and caves on the price.
Lakers are stuck between a rock and a hard place with Keon Ellis
This is a situation where the demand far exceeds the supply. As such, the trade price for Ellis is being greatly affected in the process.
Is the Kings guard really worth a first-round pick — even if it is just a late one? Probably not, but he's the best game in town for several teams to clearly boost their roster with the most in-demand role player archetype in the NBA.
Make no mistake about it: Ellis is a good player. However, there is nothing about him that really screams first-round value for a potential buyer, apart from the lack of alternatives.
Ellis' offensive production has dipped from last season. It is also continually discouraging that no consistent role has been carved out for him in Sacramento's rotation despite them being devoid of a good basketball team.
If the approximations of how many teams are interested in Ellis are correct, none of this matters for the Lakers. The Kings can sit tight and wait to see which of those desperate teams is willing to commit to a partial overpay. At the very least, Sacramento can pick what they find most favorable.
For Los Angeles, who still need to figure out their juggling act of present versus future, there may just be no desire to ultimately be the team who budges. Ellis would be a quality addition, but he cannot fix all the Lakers' issues by himself. With bigger fish around the corner, Rob Pelinka might just pass.