Keon Ellis Is Signing With The Brooklyn Nets On A Two-Year $18 Million Deal

Keon Ellis agreed to a two-year, $18 million deal with the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday night, ESPN's Shams Charania reported, the first notable free agent signing of Brooklyn's offseason as the organization builds around Julius Randle and its new young core.

The deal includes a mutual option.

Ellis, 26, spent his first three NBA seasons with the Sacramento Kings after going undrafted out of Alabama in 2022.

He established himself as one of the better perimeter defenders in the league relative to his role, long, quick, physical, the kind of guard who can be assigned to the opposing team's best wing player and make life difficult.

He averaged 9.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game last season in Sacramento, where his offensive role had been expanding each year but where he never quite broke into the starting lineup consistently.

Brooklyn is the right landing spot for a player at his stage.

The Nets are in a rebuilding phase with genuine draft capital and a roster that needs identity as much as it needs stars.

Ellis gives them defensive credibility on the perimeter alongside Randle, Michael Porter Jr., Mikel Brown Jr. and the rest of a roster that is still being assembled.

At $9 million per year he is a reasonable investment for a team that can afford to be patient.

He is also a former teammate of AJ Dybantsa at Alabama, the No. 1 overall pick who went to Washington. Different paths, same draft class era.