THIS Takes The Houston Rockets To The NEXT LEVEL…

So, a report came out this morning that the Houston Rockets are among the contending teams interested in trading for Keon Ellis. And it’s very easy to see why. This is the type of piece that can win the Rockets at championship. You want to be able to bring in a piece that doesn’t need the ball in his hands, but also can work within the flow of the offense. And Keon Ellis, Amen Thompson, Fred Van Vleet when he comes back, Aaron Holiday, that is a scary defensive punch. And Reed Shepard also is a combo guard, which means he can play the two and the one. So you have to count him as well. Teams are not going to be able to score on the Rockets. And you go up against the Timberwolves, you go up against the Nuggets or OKC or potentially Detroit in the finals, right? You you have to be able to piece together stops, especially when the game’s on the line. Take a look at Keon Ellis’s defensive tape, guys. He’s just so relentless. He’s never out of a play with that wingspan as he blocks Anthony Edwards. Now he’s got Steph Curry gonna get another block shot. Now in transition, Shay Gillis Alexander rips him of course driving to the basket. Shay again pokes this one free. Another steal. Jason Tatum fights over this screen and then steals it. Just all the way, man. Look at that hustle. Gets in the passing lane here. This is honestly the most impressive play of them all is the ability to fight over the screen. Sabonis doesn’t drop coverage, which you never want as a big man. So now you can see they’re going to switch this and Anthony Davis just tries to back him down, but Ellis just goes around him and pokes it free. Good hands. Nice job not to foul as well. Sheay was magnificent. He was the MVP. Shay won MVP, right? Or was it Jokic? I think it was Shay. So Shay won MVP. Shay won finals MVP. You need a guy to throw on him to make it difficult. Nobody’s locking up Shay. That’s impossible. But just make it tough on him. Make him work for everything. And that’s exactly what Keon Ellis does. and he’s just going to annoy the people that he’s guarding. And Emmaoka is going to fall in love with his game. A guy who doesn’t care about scoring at all, who just wants to defend every single possession, but can stay ready on those catch and shoot threes. I mean, we’re talking about a guy on the season who’s playing in just 18 minutes a night, a little bit under that, shooting 43% from three, uh, 1.3 steals, 0.4 blocks, six points. I mean, that that just screams bench piece elite type of production. And Reed Shepard, I’d imagine, is going to be inserted into the starting lineup. He should be inserted into the starting lineup with how he’s played. So now with him being there, you have Keon Ellis, who he’s not going to fill out the scoring type of role for Reed, but he can give you that spark off of the bench with Tari and Steven Adams and right and Shasha Kogi and Click Capella, the Rockets bench gets even stronger. Like you can argue that the Rockets already have the strongest bench in the league and you go get Keon Ellis. I mean, I don’t want to compare that to Alex Kuso to the Thunder, but it’s to me it’s very similar. I I’ve always liked Keon Ellis. I’m very biased and I know a lot of Rocket fans are going to dislike this video and they’re going to hate on my take and that’s fine. You know, everyone’s entitled to their own opinion at the end of the day. But from a guy who’s watched a lot of Keon Ellis basketball, the more I do, the more I fall in love with this game. And I do think that if the Rockets can get their hands on him, they go from a team that is probably a Western Conference Finals team to a championship team. I think Keon can make that type of impact because defense is always going to win championships. And even though the Rockets have good defenders, if you add in another great one, it’s going to be impossible to score on this team. And there’s going to be nights where the Rockets shot is off. Durant’s off, Shenun’s off, Amen’s off, but they still win because they forced turnovers. They got offensive rebounds and, you know, Keon Ellis made, you know, four of eight threes. Like he like there’s going to be nights like that where, you know, Ellis, he’s he’s just going to change a series. Like this isn’t a guy who can just change a game. He can change a series. he could change a season. Usually, you don’t get bench players like this available, and when they are towards the trade deadline, you’re a contending team. You want to do whatever it takes to get them. And it’s definitely a blessing that Ellis is hitting restricted free agency because if he wasn’t, he’d go for a lot. 25 years old, this type of defense, shooting, doesn’t need the ball. He’s just a perfect fit for any championship team. Like the Thunder brought in Isaiah Hartinstein, they brought in Alex Caruso, and they won the championship. So, the Rockets can go get, of course, Keon Ellis and maybe another piece. I mean, that could be their version of doing that, right? I’m not saying Ellis is necessarily the player of those guys. I know people are going to be like, “Oh, Keon Ellis isn’t as good.” That’s not really my point. It’s just these teams that already had all this star power and talent and now you pair that with these role players and what they’re able to do. And I’m going to be keeping a strong eye on Kian Ellis, man. Because if Rafael Stone goes and gets him, man, I’m gonna have way more faith in the Rockets come, of course, June, right? come playoff time when it actually matters knowing that you know they’ve got another guy off the bench that can defend and that can shoot and just stay ready. A lot of you guys don’t know who Keon Ellis is and there’s nothing wrong with that. I mean it’s not like he’s all NBA player or anything like that but you have to realize that stars do not win championships. Like I know that’s a misconception nowadays but the Rockets they already have that. Just because you’ve got Durant and Shenu doesn’t mean you’re going to win the championship. You need pieces around them. And Keon Ellis knocks down open threes. He’s an elite on ball defender. He’s also a very good weak side defender as well as you guys are going to see in some of these clips. And his last game which was Wednesday the 26th against the Suns, he had three blocks and three steals. Like that’s just exactly who Keon Ellis is. And he scored six points. You he shot at 50% from three and 40% from the field. So he doesn’t really shoot the ball much, but his defense is otherworldly. And you can’t leave him open because he is such a lethal shooter. On the season, Ellis is shooting 42.9% from three. And even though it might not be a lot of attempts, if you’re Houston, you don’t want a guy in the corner and teams just dare him to shoot, right? You don’t want a player like that. You want guys who, okay, we can’t leave him open, so we’re kind of going to have to let Shenun and KD go one-on-one. And that’s a recipe for disaster for opposing defenses. So, I like this move all around by the Rockets. 25 years old is a restricted free agent, but that’s actually a benefit to the Rockets. I know people are going to be like, “Oh, well, he needs this an extension. The Rockets shouldn’t do this.” Well, you have to put it this way. you’re gonna get him for cheaper because he needs an extension. So all of a sudden what probably would have been a first round pick, you could probably get him for two or three second round picks. Or maybe the Rockets could put a player in there and go get out. Like you just who knows what they’re going to be able to do. But Kon Ellis definitely definitely increases their chances to be able to win without Fred. And I like having him, Reed, and Aaron Holiday because now all of a sudden you’ve got three pestering oddball defenders that can shoot the ball. You know, Ellis doesn’t he’s not known for critting off of the dribble, but you don’t have to crit off the dribble when you steal the ball and you go down the floor and you dunk it, right? This is a huge huge piece to a contender and it’s going to be an absolute bidding war. And I just I don’t think teams are going to give up a first. Like giving up a first and then needing to pay a guy long term that that just loses leverage for the Kings. And Sacramento’s in a rebuild and they’re going to be trading away anything that they can. So that way when you know, new management or whatever comes in, they have more to work with. So like Zack Lavine’s a bonus. Ellis, the Rosen, these guys are all going to be traded. And whichever team gets their hands on them has a significantly better chance to whether be make the playoffs or to win a championship. And I just I’ve always liked Ellis’s game. I used to make Kings videos all the time. And he really stood out to me. I didn’t know who he was when I started making the videos, but I noticed immediately that he just doesn’t take a possession off. And I think that’s the type of player that the Rockets need in their system is every single possession. I don’t care if you’re down 40 or if you’re up 40, you’re going to play at 110% level. And if teams can’t score on you, they can’t beat you, right? Yes, you need to score your your own right, but you know, scoring isn’t a problem for the Rockets when they have Shen and Kevin Durant and Reed Shepard the way he’s been shooting the basketball. So, I trust the three of those guys to go out there. And then Thompson’s going to have 20 point games here and there. Whenever he’s on, he’s going to be on. You know, Tari E has been scoring. You know, Kogi’s been hitting three. So, I I like the Rockets offensively and I I just want to see another piece be able to defend because you’re going to have to go up against JDub. You’re going to have to go up against Shay, LeBron, Luca, like there’s just Anthony Edwards. There’s so many good offensive players in the West. And the more Keon Ellis type of players you have, the easier it’s going to be able to build a game plan. At the end of the day, and I’ll end it on this, the team with the best defense more often than not is going to win. The Thunder had the best defense. Sure, they also scored a ton. I think they might have been the best offense as well. But if the Rockets can lock opposing teams down and they can’t score, they can’t do anything. They’re going to win that game because even if the rocket shot isn’t on the last five minutes of the game, which is considered clutch time, of course, that’s when Shenun and Kevin Durant are going to take over. Now you’ve got Reed and men’s only growing and Ellis when he’s out there can still knock down shots if needed. Right. Okay, you want to send a double at Durant extra pass Ellis in the corner. Rockets will live at that shot. So to me, if I’m Ralph Stone, I’m absolutely getting this move done. Especially if you don’t want LaMelo, if you don’t want a big time name, which I don’t think the Rockets do. I don’t think they want Jaw. They don’t want Harden. They don’t want a player of that type of caliber, right? Kyrie. So why not go get Keon Ellis, man? It’s very difficult to find pieces like him just available at the trade deadline. And the teams that make those moves, they’re going to have a significantly better chance to go out there and to compete. But my name is Swaggy. You guys have been wanting me to make an outro.

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29 comments

  2. The Rockets need elite shooter, they already have good defender. Eason,okogie,jabari,Amen,KD, etc I would rather they give JD Davison a standard contract than they signing Keon Ellis

  4. Considering that Tari Eason is a restricted free agent who the Rockets may not match any offer to keep, Keon Ellis may be a good replacement in 2026 free agency.

  5. Do we really need more “solid defender roleplayer” though? He’s a good player and I like his game but that’s the most common archetype on this team already. Tari/DFS/Okogie are all have similar skillsets and are already on the team. Even in the offseason, I’d prefer to keep Tari, a known commodity, over Keon. I mean it’s never a bad idea to get more defense but we are entering the realm of diminishing returns.

  6. I like Ellis, but where would the minutes for him come from, especially in the playoffs when the rotation shrinks?

    KD
    Sengun
    Adams
    Finney-Smith (????)
    Jabari
    Reed
    Amen
    Okogie
    Tari

    That's already 9 players without even considering Holiday who I think needs to play….

  11. 27 our 1st and 27 PHX pick swap would entice Kings to bite. Two first round picks and one from PHX hold amazing value, not sure how we gonna shed $6 mil tho

  14. I’m big on Keon Ellis for this rockets squad honestly. It wouldn’t take much too get him and I think he would thrive on the team. Okogie is not consistent enough to be apart of the rotation, he’s a third string guy and Ellis would be a major upgrade. Sacramento is 100% holding him back, how many players have exploded once they left that horrible franchise at this point? They simply have no idea how to utilize players and would rather play old inefficient players and consistently lose young promising players for nothing. Also people are way too high on JD, he’s a good solid third string guy to have when your team is injured, but this time ain’t winning shit if they’re relying on JD for consistent minutes.

  17. I've been wanting Keon Ellis on the Rockets for 2 years now. I love his game, and only 2 2nds or 1 first should be able to get it done. From talking to Sac fans, he doesn't get a lot of love, and it seems the same way for their coaching staff/front office. The only thing is, I still think the Rockets need to prioritize a legit ball handler if they want to get past OKC's traps and blitzes, which they do a ton of. Keon is more of a secondary handler to me, but having another legit point-of-attack defender would help a lot for Amen and Reed. We def need another POA defender.

  18. Bro let’s get this straight the rockets who are third in the west with young core that’s under 25 trying to compete with okc the defending champs that also will have a top 5 draft pick and has the most draft capital in the nba for the next 5 years 😂 yup let’s put all of our eggs in one basket because ??? What we didn’t even win a playoff series last year it’s at the beginning of the season why are we in win now mode with such a huge team this rockets vs golden state all over again

  21. realistically, who would we have to give up to get him though? The chemistry is still building and they're clicking well with each other. Depending on who you have to give up might mess with the existing system that is jiving right now. So who goes?

  27. He would be a great fit for Houston. Not to mention insurance for injuries. Everything stays pretty much the same with him instead of Amen and the other guards, so the offense just gets to keep cookin.

  28. I'm very high on Ellis, he does a lot of what okogie does and you can never have too many of those, If someone else goes down long term it could turn this season completely upside down. don't think we need to just be throwing picks around but if he's in that 1 first or 2 seconds range then its a no brainer, thankfully stone not stupid enough to get swindled into making it a larger package.

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