The Cleveland Cavaliers struck gold when they acquired Dennis Schroder and Keon Ellis from the Sacramento Kings -- or so they thought. They were two of the most-coveted players ahead of the trade deadline.
Schroder hit the ground running as a vocal leader and an offensive catalyst, but he went ice-cold in the final stretch of the season. Ellis, on the other hand, was impressive with his All-World defensive prowess at first, but that may have also changed.
Ellis went from being one of the first guys off the bench to racking up DNP-CDs. He has been a healthy scratch in the past two games vs. the Toronto Raptors, and that's not gonna do him any favors in free agency.
Keon Ellis might be getting exposed in the playoffs
Ellis has missed the past two games after logging a box-plus-minus of -5, -3, 1, and -3 in the first four contests of the series, per Basketball Reference. He got outmuscled and outsized by the Raptors' lengthy and switchable players, and when his shot isn't falling, he's not bringing much to the table.
Given his active hands and pesky perimeter defense, plus his streaky shooting, it seemed that Ellis was going to price himself out of the Cavaliers' range. Watching him struggle this way is bad now, but it might be a blessing in disguise if they intend to re-sign him.
Of course, if that's the case, they also must address their lack of size in the wings. Only Dean Wade can hold his own against big, ball-handling forwards, and that has been a liability for the past three years at the very least. The Cavs have to deal with big ball-handlers in every series in the Eastern Conference, so that should be a priority for Koby Altman and Kenny Atkinson.
Back to Ellis, it's hard to blame him for this. He's the ultimate hustler, and he's put his body on the line every single time his number has been called. It's not his fault that he's simply not big enough to help the team in this series; it might be a matchup thing.
Nevertheless, this league is ruthless to those who can't be trusted to suit up in the playoffs, especially when they're about to hit the market. Ellis looked like a rising star who was about to get a significant raise, and he might now be looking at a short-term "prove it" type of deal unless the Cavs move on and he becomes a factor again in the following rounds.
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