The Sacramento Kings are Playing a Dangerous Game with Keon Ellis | Locked On Kings

The Sacramento Kings are Playing a Dangerous Game with Keon Ellis | Locked On Kings

scott Perry and the Sacramento Kings are playing a dangerous game when it comes to Keon Ellis i’ll explain to you my theory as to why the Kings decided to exercise his team option and risk losing him next summer it’s all right here for you on Locked on Kings you are Locked on Kings your daily Sacramento Kings podcast part of the Locked On podcast network your team every day
and now ladies and gentlemen it is that time time for another episode of Locked On Kings hello and welcome into Locked on Kings your podcast hub for Sacramento Kings coverage all offseason long today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel right now new customers can get $150 in bonus bets when your first $ five bet wins my name is Matt George i have the privilege of being your host here i’m a Sacramento sports anchor and reporter for ABC 10 News and I apologize about the the nasely voice the obvious congestion battling a little bit of the sniffles a little bit of the cold here i I married a teacher and live with a three almost fouryear-old so I I am around germs all the time and this season in particular man it has kicked my butt as you podcast listeners have heard a number of times what we’re soldiering on because we got a lot to talk about especially when it comes to Keon Ellis if you go back and look at my tweets on my Twitter account or exac account Matt George Sack you’ll see this morning I tweeted that I would be very surprised if the Kings did exercise Keon Ellis’s team option i thought the Kings would decline it therefore making him a restricted free agent this summer opening the door to them having more control to sign Keon to a longerterm deal that pays him more than what he is being paid right now pays him what he is worth i thought that was a no-brainer apparently the Sacramento Kings felt differently it’s the first decision so far by Scott Perry that I don’t like now I’m not mad about it i don’t think it’s worth freaking out about although I do understand any fan who’s listening to this podcast right now who is is scared that the Kings are going to potentially lose Keon Ellis and this is the first step to the Kings losing Keon Ellis that is the risk that that Perry is taking and we’ll talk about that risk a little bit more that is the dangerous game hence the title of this podcast but I don’t think we there needs to be any sort of panic yet i do have a theory as to why Perry made this decision why this is happening i’ll share that theory for you in the next segment but to me I’m just speaking for myself here securing Keon I felt was a no-brainer right in terms of the culture that Perry is trying to build what he and and and Doug Christie are trying to establish here in Sacramento which by the way establishing that culture to me is priority number one for this Kings team right now in this upcoming season in theory excuse me in theory you would love for the Kings to win as many games as possible and get back to the playoffs next year and that is still absolutely possible with this group but in my mind establishing a culture establishing an identity is and should be the top priority of new Kings general manager Scott Perry by the end of this season or by the trade deadline this coming season so early 2026 we should have a much better idea of who the Sacramento Kings are as a team which players fit that which players don’t and therefore Scott Perry can make trades and make moves accordingly at the deadline and next summer and now by not picking up Keon Ellis’s option you kind of kick the can down the road to around that time period from what I understand Keon will be extension eligible in February so that means that he still might not even make it to free agency and there is a chance there’s a handshake agreement or understanding between Scott Perry and the King’s front office and Keon Ellis’s camp that they will work out an extension hey Keon we still prioritize you you’re important to this team we want you here long term we are going to handle this in February we are going to get an extension done and pay you what you are worth but the massive risk that you’re running here is pissing Keon Ellis off or just making him feel like he’s not a priority again I feel that Keon fits exactly what the Sacramento Kings need i believe that Keon Ellis is one of the best pieces on this roster one of the most obvious pieces that you could point to and go if you’re looking for long-term Scott that’s a that’s one of your guys that should be a guy that you want to make sure he ain’t going nowhere whether you view him as a starter or coming off the bench or whatever to me Keon Ellis is one of the most proven good commodities that you have on this roster so get the deal done handle it right away that’s how I felt and I thought that it made perfect sense it was a no-brainer to try and get that done as soon as possible there is the potential now that Keon Ellis goes into next season being paid $2.3 million y’all that’s not a steal that’s borderline criminally underpaid keon Ellis being paid $2.3 million next season is ridiculous it’s ridiculous and if I were Keon absolutely I would feel a certain type of way about it now of course $2.3 million is a lot of money to us in the NBA $2.3 million for arguably one of the most important rotational pieces on this team and a top two at worst defender on the team yeah $2.3 million is nothing the guy would get way more elsewhere is worth way more in Sacramento or in any market in the league so Keon if he feels a certain type of way about only being paid $2.3 million when he knows he’s worth more and the Kings know that he’s worth more I don’t blame him for that keon also might feel the same type of way that we see like running backs feel in the NFL right you don’t typically get these like hold contract holdouts in the NBA compared to the NFL like the NFL they happen all the time how many times in the NFL have we seen and heard quarterbacks or running backs or wide receivers or defensive line whoever holding out not reporting to training camp because they want to get the money that they feel they are worth even though they’re still under contract they want to get a new deal done why because they know that at any point if they get hurt the money that they’re worth poof goes away now we’re going to knock on wood as much as we possibly can here that Keon Ellis stays as healthy next season as possible and continues on his upward trajectory that he’s been on for the last two years but Keon Ellis is worth more than that money now had a chance to not just get more money but to get more long-term contractual security right now had the Kings not picked up his team option but the Kings chose not to do that so Keon Ellis is now taking the floor next season at least until around February and every time he steps on the floor he’s running the risk of getting hurt and depreciating the value that he has right now so I don’t know Keon closely enough or personally enough to to question whether or not that’s going to be a grudge on his shoulder everything that I’ve learned about Keon and gotten to know about Keon over the the time that he spent here in Sacramento is he is willing to put his head down do all the work that is asked of him and be a fantastic teammate a fantastic basketball player so I have a feeling he’s going to show up he’s going to do his job he’s not going to pout about it or make a stink about it but you best believe that Keon and his camp are not going to be happy and should not be happy by this decision from the Sacramento Kings and that while I won’t say the bridge could be burned that might be enough to kill any sort of extension agreement or free agency agreement before it even can start look maybe Keon’s price goes up maybe he plays even better and then when he’s extension elible the Kings go “Okay here’s the money that you wanted during the summer.” And Kon goes “No no no no no no i’m worth more than that now or because you didn’t pay me then and you made me play for three months on this salary you’re going to give me a little bit more and maybe the Kings go “Okay well then we can’t come to an agreement right now we’ll see you in free agency.” Then Keon unrestricted free agent he can go wherever he wants to regardless of the money that they throw at him and you best believe a team if not multiple teams around the league will be throwing a bag i won’t say the bag but a bag at Keon Ellis next year because all 30 NBA teams value the kind of player that Keon Ellis is to me if Keon Ellis is your long-term plan is part of your long-term plan which again I don’t know why he wouldn’t be this seems like an unnecessary risk but I have a theory as to why this is happening and I still feel confident in Kings general manager Scott Perry i’ll explain why in just a second like I said at the top of the show today’s episode of Locked on Kings is brought to you by FanDuel summer sports are in full swing and whether you’re all about baseball under the lights or golf on the green or high stakes soccer action well FanDuel is the best way to make every game even more exciting you’re already following the action why not make it a little more thrilling with FanDuel you can get in on the game while your friends are getting sunburned at the beach whether you can track all your favorite teams on FanDuel how they’re playing every day kind of their trends things of that nature it’s easy to use fast to pay out and makes every regular season game feel like a mustwatch event if you’re placing a same game parlay or watching a bet ride into the ninth inning of a high-intensity baseball game FanDuel makes it feel like you are part of the action if you’re new to FanDuel right now new customers can be or bet just $5 and get $150 in bonus bets if your first five uh if your that first $5 bet wins so place find the easiest bet that you can find bet against the Colorado Rockies right bet for the Rockies to lose you’ll win that $150 in bonus bucks i guarantee you that open the FanDuel app today or visit fanuel.com to get started it’s funny those of you who have been listening to Locked on Kings over the last 6 months know that I have been more negative and pessimistic about the Sacramento Kings and their direction than ever before and arguably than any other media member here in Sacramento extremely vocally against the firing of Mike Brown extremely vocally against the trade of Dearron Fox and the handling of the De’arren Fox situation very critical of ownership very critical of decision-making even sharing hesitations with how Scott Perry was hired but it’s funny because now the pendulum is starting to swing the other way because while I do still feel the same way about the decisions that the Kings made last season I’m able or I’m starting to be able to kind of move on from it right this is now the Scott Perry era of the Sacramento Kings and I’ve had the opportunity to have some conversations with Scott we’ve seen the work that he’s done already over these first couple of months he had a fantastic draft night in my opinion and I I do feel a certain level of trust in Scott now this is not just blind faith this comes from conversations again with Scott with people who know Scott very well other people around the league who have nothing but good things to say about Scott even some people that had fair criticisms of Scott Perry and I mean hey the pendulum is swinging so much it’s got to the point where the same people who are saying on Twitter that I hated the Sacramento Kings and should just go and cover the San Antonio Spurs are now saying that I’m a mouthpiece for the organization so hey what do you know that that I guess that means I’m doing something right but I do think while again the fear of losing Keon Ellis is justified I do think that Kings fans should and can place their trust in Scott Perry and feel I think more comfortable than they ever felt in Monty McNair i truly believe that Scott is extremely wellconed around the league we’ve heard this we’ve talked about this i’ve emphasized this is the biggest distinction between Scott and the last two general managers of the Sacramento Kings Monty McNair and Vlatty Debots now Vlatt is well connected too don’t get me wrong but Scott has been in this game a long time when it comes to agents when it comes to players when it comes to other general managers and front office executives Scott Perry knows them all has relationships with them all has worked with them before to some capacity so I I believe I trust I have faith in Scott that he knows what he’s doing in this circumstance and he’s also just as aware of the risks as I am maybe even more so than what I’ve laid out for you here on Locked on Kinks it’s funny people are catching on to this keon Ellis’s agent Mark Bartlestein I think that’s how you pronounce his name is also the agent of Keon of Keegan Murray and of Dennis Schroeder and that’s important because I want to share with you my theory as to why Scott Perry and the Kings made this decision to pick up Keon’s option no matter what understand that what I’m about to tell you carries the undertone of that risk that we laid out in the first uh segment that’s why I I saved the theory to the second segment so we understand the risk factor it’s crystal clear to everybody i believe the decision to pick up Keon Ellis’s option is a time or patience play it does not mean that Keon is not a top priority of the Kings and of Scott Perry it means that the Kings have the ability or the luxury because of the contract that Keon previously signed to handle that decision later and Scott Perry is going to use that time to his advantage let me explain right now the top priority for the Kings in terms of roster personnel this summer is finding a point guard i think we’ve laid that out pretty clearly every sign and every rumor and everything I’ve heard everything you’ve probably read points to Dennis Shruder is going to be that point guard now I understand if Dennis Shruder doesn’t excite you i talked about this a lot on a a previous episode of Locked on Kings it was after uh the second round of the draft it was the episode where we talked about uh Maxim Reo the Kings second round draft pick and I talked about the rumors and and and everything I knew about the Dennis Ruder situation and you can go check that out and listen to that i understand if you’re underwhelmed by Dennis Shruder but as I explained in more detail in that episode I believe believe this season is kind of a stop gap year a gap year a year that matters but doesn’t really matter like a year that you just kind of got to get through if we’re playing NBA 2K it’s kind of the season you just have to simulate before you can make the real moves that you want to make i feel like that’s the case for Scott Perry because of some of the contracts like Zack Lavine’s on this roster that’s why I said earlier to me this season what’s most important is for the Kings to establish their culture this year regardless of wins and losses establish that culture establish that identity find which players fit and which players don’t the Kings need a point guard but they don’t need to go out and get the point guard of the future that’s going to carry them back into the playoffs and into the promised land right now which is why Dennis Shruder makes a lot of sense if Keon were or rather Perry were to pick up or or not exercise Keon Ellis’s option and make him a restricted free agent right now now suddenly in the next 48 or so hours or when free agency begins Scott has to get a deal done for both Shruder/ whatever point guard option he wants and Keon Ellis and he invites the opportunity for a third party to make that decision a lot more difficult on him having a restricted free agent means you have control as a team but what you don’t control is how much money another team’s willing to offer so let’s say any team doesn’t matter pick the team comes in and says “Oh you’re a restricted free agent this year we’ll offer you 12 $13 million a year.” No idea if that’s what Keon Ellis is worth but let’s just say 12 $13 million a year now Scott Perry might be put into a a position where he might have to risk losing Shruder and not signing Shruder in order to secure Keon and get that done does that make sense if he does not have enough money to confidently handle both and there’s a good chance he doesn’t because the Kings have two massive contracts on their roster demar De Rozan is still here and it sounds like Demar’s not going anywhere malik Monk is still here sounds like the Kings might want to move on from Malik Monk but his market isn’t very good right now so by picking up Keon Ellis’s option you no longer have to get that deal done with the limited financial situ uh uh circumstances and flexibility that you have right now does that make sense again you run the risk of pissing Keon off and you run the risk of Keon feeling like “Oh okay so you’re prioritizing a point guard you’re prioritizing Dennis Shruder over me yeah like you definitely run that risk 100% but I get Scott Perry not having to force himself into that decision when he might lose some leverage if he doesn’t have to the other part of that theory is this we’re all looking at a key Keegan Murray extension too right and again Schroeder Keegan Keon they all have the same agent we’re looking at a Keegan Murray extension down the road in the near future this upcoming season keegan Murray’s extension is going to be more than Keon Ellis’s right i think we feel pretty confident in that we don’t know what the range is worth i’ve shared before I I’m I’m comfortable in the high 20s i think Kegan going to push for the 30s the low 30s and I don’t know if the Kings will be willing to give him that but that’s the range that I think he’s at it’s probably close to double if not triple what Keon’s value is going to be or what Keon’s worth is going to be in my opinion by kicking the Keon can down the road a little bit you now give yourself the financial as much financial flexibility as you can to get the Keegan Murray extension done whether you need to make trades to make that happen at the deadline or this summer or not you allow you you you you give yourself the flexibility to get and have as much money as possible to find that number and sign Keegan to an extension if you view him also as your long-term plan which I believe Scott Perry and the Kings do and then you handle key on after that once you have that context and that money sorted out but again now you’re running the risk of Keon going so I’m less of a priority than Dennis Shruder and Keegan Murray that’s the risk i would not blame Keon for feeling that way but if you were to tell me Scott Perry thinks that finding a point guard and extending Keegan Murray those two things are more important than extending Keon Ellis right now you might not agree with it i understand it and I’m hopeful confident that because these three have the same agent these discussions are already happening right we’re probably they’re probably layers deep into this we’re just starting to scratch the surface these conversations have probably been going on for weeks maybe months since Scott Perry took the job and look you also if we’re being brutally honest you want a general manager that won’t be pushed around by agents and Keon you sign the contract you signed the contract with a team option meaning you relinquished the power in that circumstance how Keon was signing his first real NBA deal after being a two-way player i don’t blame him for signing that contract but that’s why team options are there to give the the the control to the organization so I understand Keon being frustrated about not being paid what he’s worth but you sign the deal the organization’s going to take advantage of that deal now you can hold that grudge and again walk away if you want to or demand more when you’re able to if you want to do that Keon absolutely can do that and I know that’s what scares Kings fans is losing him because of it you sign the deal perry doesn’t have to handle it right now because he’s got these other things that I just laid out to worry about so he’s going to go and tackle those first when he doesn’t have to tackle your situation yet and potentially muddy everything up by handling your situation in a different in addition to those other situations i know that’s kind of convoluted it’s kind of all over the place that’s my theory and again I think I’m just scratching the surface of this conversation and what’s going on but that’s how that’s what makes sense in my brain even though I can I still would have declined or or yeah declined the option and tried to get Keon Ellis secured because I believe in Keon Ellis and I think Keon Ellis needs to be part of Sacramento’s long-term plan so now I want to hear from you that was a lot i threw a lot at you and again I could be totally off base what I am doing I am presenting to you my opinions my theories based off of information that I know information that we all know information that I do know that is not public and just my own opinion of the situation i’m not reporting anything i’m not saying anything is factual i’m saying this is what I believe is happening and I hope it makes as much sense to you as it does to me ultimately we can be worried about losing Keon i don’t think it’s anything to get stressed about right now i think this is another thing where we’re going to learn about Scott now you best believe if this goes south if Keon Ellis ends up leaving and goes elsewhere a year from now and Scott is stuck with just Dennis Shruder and Keegan Murray’s extension but a bad basketball team yeah he’s going to face criticism for that as he should that’s the risk he’s running but right now I don’t think it’s worth stressing out about but it’s definitely going to be something that we will monitor throughout this upcoming season and again knock on wood everybody pray hope to God that Keon Ellis stays as healthy as possible so he gets the payday that he deserves because $2.3 million next year for that that man is ridiculous i don’t feel comfortable calling that a steal that’s a that’s a that’s a heist and you’re not stealing his value you’re stealing money from him out of his pocket for what he’s worth in my opinion speaking of Keegan Murray I’m going to be doing a podcast episode here in the very near future about how Keegan Murray’s circumstance has changed with Scott Perry being here scott Perry is not the GM that drafted Keegan i believe there is less pressure on Keegan’s shoulders than ever before in his career but there’s also less security i’ll explain what I mean by that and how that should or shouldn’t impact Keegan going into next season talk about that later on this upcoming week here on Lockdown Kings we’re still waiting to do the introductory press conference for the new Kings rookies uh hopefully we’ll be able to hear and speak to Nate Clifford and Maxim Reno here probably early next week maybe even tomorrow we’re we’re waiting to find out when those press conferences are going to be because training camp or practice for summer league gets started here very very soon and I’m working on getting Stanford’s head coach Maxim Reno’s head coach at Stamford to join me here on Locked on Kings if you missed my conversation with one of um Nick Clifford’s head coaches coach Fukmanov from uh the Colorado State Rams i did an episode with him earlier on this week i encourage you to go and check that out as well some really good information about who Nick is as a player and and a human and a person uh in that as well so I’m looking forward to having all that content for you coming up here in the very near future again I threw a lot at you kind of a word salad in a lot of ways that’s what this podcast is most of the time hopefully it made sense want to hear from you your thoughts on the theory your feedback on the risk is it worth it for Scott Perry to take this risk are you frustrated by Scott Perry not just getting the Keon Ellis stuff handled are like are you are you worried are you panicking do you trust Scott like let me know let it out hit me up matt George Sack on Twitter email me matte Georgeportgmail.com leave your thoughts in the YouTube comment section down below appreciate your support as always can’t wait to have you join me on the next episode of Locked On Kings until then my name is Matt George you’ve been listening to the Locked On podcast part of the Locked On podcast network

Matt George reacts to the Sacramento Kings picking up Keon Ellis’ team option & the potential impact that could have on keeping him long term.

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The Sacramento Kings are Playing a Dangerous Game with Keon Ellis
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