Report: Ellis agrees to Kings training camp deal after notable summer originally appeared in NBC Sports Bay Area
The Kings have agreed to a contract with rookie guard Boogie Ellis, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported Saturday, citing sources.
Judging by Charania’s verbiage, the Ellis deal is likely a Schedule 10 deal.
The 6-foot-2, 180-pound Ellis went undrafted out of USC and signed with the Kings’ summer league roster after Day 2 of the 2024 NBA Draft.
As a senior at USC, the 23-year-old averaged 16.5 points on 42.7 percent shooting from the field and 41.8 percent 3-point shooting, with 3.5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 .4 steals per game.
Ellis will compete for a real roster spot with Sacramento. The newbie has a good momentconsidering he was an elite shooter during the 2024 NBA Summer League.
In five games in Las Vegas, Ellis averaged 11.2 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists, and displayed tenacious defense. But his shooting, as expected, impressed many, as Ellis shot 54.5% from three and 51.3% from the field.
He finished fifth in 3-point shooting percentage during summer league play and averaged 17.3 minutes per game with Sacramento’s second unit.
The undrafted Ellis surprised many considering his Trojans teammate Bronny James — objectively very much a project — was selected 55th overall by the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Kings, however, were happy to sign Ellis because of his college resume.
In two years at Memphis and three at USC, Ellis averaged 13 points on 38.4 percent shooting with 3.2 rebounds and 2.3 assists.
He was an All-Pac-12 selection during his final two years – and those in the conference – as a Trojan.
Ellis brings Kings roster to 13 players ahead of training camp. Even if the point guard doesn’t destroy the first team, he should find opportunities as a two-way or G League player.
it will be a surprise if Boogie Ellis doesn’t get a two-way contract. He has all the tools to help his team on both sides. Ellis has NBA stuff and showed it in Las Vegas. He can definitely play. #NBA2KSummerLeague pic.twitter.com/XMi79Ejnpc
-Christos Tsaltas (@Tsaltas46) July 21, 2024
Ellis definitely has the tools to help an NBA team at some point. The Kings are betting it will be them.