Wolves Reportedly Among Teams Targeting Trade for Kings' Keon Ellis

Ellis could be a big addition to the Timberwolves' roster as a 3-and-D specialist off the bench.

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

One of many names to keep in mind for the Timberwolves ahead of the February 5 NBA trade deadline, which is now a little over a week away, is Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis.

It is widely expected that the Kings will trade Ellis, who has an expiring contract and has seen his role fluctuate over the course of this season. And according to Kings insider James Ham, the Wolves are among the teams who have called Sacramento about the 26-year-old guard.

"I know for a fact that there are tons of teams that have called the Sacramento Kings on Keon Ellis," Ham said on the Locked On Kings podcast. "And according to my sources, here's a couple of names that you need to keep in mind. The Minnesota Timberwolves, the Indiana Pacers, the Boston Celtics, and the New York Knicks, from what I have heard, have all called on Keon Ellis."

Ellis would be a big addition to Minnesota's bench as a 6'4" three-and-D guard. He's a career 41.5 percent three-point shooter, even though his efficiency is down slightly this season. Last year, he hit over 43 percent of his threes on four attempts per game. Ellis is also a strong on-ball defender who has averaged 2.2 steals and 1.1 blocks per 36 minutes for his career. To some extent, he's like Jaylen Clark if Jaylen Clark was also an elite three-point shooter who could create his own shot.

Keon Ellis | Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images

Ellis spent two seasons at Alabama after beginning his college career at the JuCo level. He went undrafted in 2022 and signed a two-way deal with the Kings. Ellis saw his role grow in his second season, when he started 21 games and averaged over 17 minutes a night for the season. He became even more involved last season, starting 28 games and averaging north of 24 minutes per contest.

This season, though, Ellis has seen his playing time come and go, due to the Kings' additions of Russell Westbrook, Dennis Schroder, and Nique Clifford to a backcourt that already featured Zach LaVine and Malik Monk. He didn't play at all in five consecutive games recently.

It's a slightly odd dynamic in that Ellis has averaged around 17 minutes per game and sometimes fallen out of the rotation on an awful Kings team, but he has significant interest from other teams around the league. Do the Kings know something everyone else doesn't? Considering their franchise history, probably not.

Behind-the-back... into your 6th triple!?

That's TOUGH, Keon Ellis 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/hI6ttlj7nx

— NBA (@NBA) October 18, 2025

Ellis is making just $2.3 million on a club option this year in the final year of his contract. He'll become eligible for an extension on February 9.

The tricky thing for the Timberwolves is that they don't have any future first-round picks they can trade, so if another team offers the Kings a first, Minnesota may be out of luck. Because they have an open roster spot and a traded-player exception from last summer's Nickeil Alexander-Walker sign-and-trade, the Wolves could offer two-second rounders and add Ellis without needing to send the Kings a player.

Another theoretical possibility is that the Wolves could offer something like Rob Dillingham and a second-rounder for Ellis and Dario Saric's expiring contract.

There's little doubt that Timberwolves president of basketball operations Tim Connelly will find a way to add some sort of bench guard before the trade deadline. Ellis is a name who fits that mold and could have a significant role for the Wolves in the postseason this year if they can get a deal done to acquire him.

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