Instant Reaction to Kings Trading Keon Ellis to Cavaliers

The Sacramento Kings are reportedly sending Keon Ellis and Dennis Schroder to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Jan 1, 2026; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis (23) reacts after making a three-point basket against the Boston Celtics during the second quarter at Golden 1 Center. | Dennis Lee-Imagn Images

In what is the biggest trade in an otherwise quiet deadline, the Sacramento Kings have traded Keon Ellis and Dennis Schröder to the Cleveland Cavaliers for De’Andre Hunter. Dario Saric is heading to Chicago, as well. 

This news is breaking, but not surprising given how we reached this point. The team said what they wanted to the media (that they would not attach Ellis to veterans in a trade), but this was a very real option - if not the most likely option - since the moment Sacramento exercised Ellis’s TO last summer. 

In a season full of confusing decisions, this situation (and all of the related decisions since last June), including denying the reality that this was a likely outcome, may still be the most confusing of all. We have covered this situation and the related decisions in depth for nearly a year, which has finally reached its underwhelming conclusion as it relates to the Sacramento Kings. 

BREAKING: The Cleveland Cavaliers are trading De'Andre Hunter to the Sacramento Kings for Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis, sources tell ESPN. The three-team deal includes the Chicago Bulls acquiring Kings forward Dario Saric and two future second-round picks. pic.twitter.com/Hoc6bP0hhj

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 1, 2026

How this trade impacts Ellis, Cleveland

Ellis now gets to play in a better situation in terms of on-court potential and a consistent role. He now goes to a team that plays its good players. Following that logic, it stands to reason that Ellis will now get to play a role similar to what he had last season, when he averaged 8.3 PPG (shooting 43.3% from three on 4 attempts per game) and 1.5 steals per game in 24 minutes per game. 

Contractually speaking, Ellis’s max extension is impacted by the trade. Players who are traded have a six-month period where they can only extend at a first-year salary of 120% of their salary or 120% of the average player’s salary. He could have extended at 140% of these figures had he stayed with the Kings. 

What This Means for the Kings

Fallout from this trade, as it relates to Sacramento’s cap sheet, is not potentially paying Ellis north of the NTMLE either in an extension next week or as a UFA this summer. Paying Ellis what he is worth is Cleveland’s problem now, and (if they do not extend him) will be a cap space team’s problem over the summer. 

On the rotation front, this should lead to fewer mentions of a logjam during postgame interviews. Sacramento still has a lot of backcourt options, with veterans Russell Westbrook, Zach LaVine, and Malik Monk all ahead of last year’s lottery pick, Devin Carter. In an ideal world, Nique Clifford is playing the 2, as well. 

Of course, no part of Sacramento Kings basketball is ideal right now, so Clifford is often playing the 3 alongside two of those veteran guards. 

At least Kings fans can now have a tangential rooting interest in a playoff team as Ellis suits up in meaningful games. It will be interesting to see if the actual on-court product matches the idea of Ellis’s potential impact with a good team.