In the Los Angeles Lakers' hunt for 3-and-D upgrades on the wings, one name was persistently in trade rumors before the 2026 NBA trade deadline. That would be Keon Ellis. No deal that would send him to Los Angeles materialized, and the Lakers may just be better off for it.
The biggest problem with trading for Ellis was the reported asking price at the time. The Sacramento Kings were rumored to be seeking a first-round pick in exchange for his services. That would have been a steep price to pay for a Lakers team strapped for draft capital.
Ellis wound up going for less than that, being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers for a package built around De'Andre Hunter. His initial run with the Cavaliers was impressive, too.
Ellis brought his trademark brand of defensive playmaking to Cleveland. At first, his offense looked solid too. The Cavs wing averaged 8.3 points per game, shooting 49.1 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from beyond the arc. That offensive juice has gone missing to start the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
Lakers may have dodged a bullet by avoiding Keon Ellis trade
Ellis will have few doubters about his defense. He's a solid point of attack defender, plus he has a knack for creating defensive disruption overall with his relentless energy on that end.
The offense has always been the swing factor of just how much value is brought in the minutes Ellis plays. Thus far, the playoffs have not been kind in that department.
After laying an egg in the points department in Game 3 on Thursday night against the Toronto Raptors, Ellis has now recorded back-to-back outings of no scoring. The Cavaliers could overcome that much in Game 2. They also secured a Game 1 win despite him scoring only three points. The most recent outing resulted in a lopsided 126-104 loss to the Toronto Raptors at Scotiabank Arena.
Watching the game between the two sides, it was actually pretty easy to forget Ellis was even on the Cavaliers. That does not speak well to his impact in this one, despite receiving 15 minutes off the bench for Cleveland.
Imagine if Ellis was donning purple and gold right now. The Lakers are in desperate need of offense after losing Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves to injury. Perhaps one would argue LeBron James could bring more out of the energetic defender on the other end.
The problem with that line of thinking is that Cleveland is not exactly short of gifted playmakers either. James Harden is an all-time offensive engine and Donovan Mitchell is no slouch as a secondary creator either.
Ellis is headed for unrestricted free agency in the summer. Perhaps the Lakers may want to circle back to him, but that will be a totally different situation than a trade.
Rob Pelinka would be able to utilize the abundance of cap space headed in Los Angeles' direction for a free addition. That much would be a fair risk to take. Giving up significant assets to acquire Ellis would have been a much different story.
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