Kings guard Keon Ellis continues his inspiring journey from an undrafted two-way player to a starter on an NBA team.
But as he hopes to turn his feel-good story into sustained success with Sacramento, Kings coach Mike Brown wants his young guard to take the next step during 2024 NBA Summer League.
Brown joined the NBA TV broadcast during Sacramento's matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies on Friday in Las Vegas to detail what he specifically is looking for while watching Ellis this summer.
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"First thing is, you got a young team," Brown said (h/t Sactown1140's Brenden Nunes). "You were kind of quiet when you played with [De'Aaron] Fox and [Domantas] Sabonis and Keegan [Murray] and [Harrison Barnes]. I said now is your time to shine as a leader. So try to figure out what it means to lead a young group. On top of that, the ball's going to be in your hands. If you feel like you can go make a play, go make a play.
"[But] if he goes and makes a play and it's the wrong play [during the regular season], he's going to get looked at sideways, not only by me but those veterans on the floor. Different atmosphere [here]. Go have some fun. Have some freedom to find your game so you can have some carryover, hopefully, come training camp next year."
Following the season-ending injuries to Kings starting guards Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk, Ellis was thrust into Brown's starting lineup in early March.
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In 19 games (17 starts), the 24-year-old averaged 9.4 points on 49.2-percent shooting from the field and 45.9 percent from 3-point range, with 3.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.6 steals in 27.6 minutes.
His defensive prowess always has been there. He showed flashes of his offensive potential last season. And now, Brown wants to see his leadership both on and off the floor grow.
Ellis is a perfect example of finding a "diamond in the rough," as Brown described, and the coach credits Sacramento's coaching staff for finding players such as Ellis and helping them properly develop.
"With Keon Ellis, here's a guy that went not drafted at all that ended up starting 17 games for us and played very well," Brown said. "Watching his development from when he came to training camp his very first year, watching him throughout his G League experience in Year 1, and then seeing him come to training camp in Year 2. When he came to training camp in Year 2, I thought initially he might have a chance to be our third or fourth point guard, but he's going to be in the G.
"Training camp starts, it progresses and I'm blown away at his development from Year 1 to the beginning of Year 2 -- and that's a testament to our coaches. We have to find gems like that or diamonds in the rough because you're not going to be able to pay everybody all this money with the first apron and second apron coming up."
While there's certainly room to grow for Ellis -- and the rest of the players on the team -- Brown said he's giving Ellis a "bright green light" to make mistakes and learn from them before the start of the 2024-25 season.