Sacramento Kings guard Keon Ellis headlines revised roster for Las Vegas Summer League

The Sacramento Kings have finalized their 14-man roster for the upcoming Las Vegas Summer League.

The team will be led by 24-year-old guard Keon Ellis, who appeared in 57 games for the Kings last season, including 21 starts. Ellis played an important role after his two-way contract was converted to a standard NBA deal at midseason.

The Las Vegas Summer League starts Friday and runs through July 22 at Thomas & Mack Center and Cox Pavilion on the campus of UNLV. The Kings will play their first game Friday against a Memphis Grizzlies team that includes former Folsom High School star and Sacramento Bee All-Metro Player of the Year Jaylen Wells.

The Kings had two teams in an expanded dual-site California Classic that was played at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento and Chase Center in San Francisco. They consolidated those teams for Wednesday’s game against the Golden State Warriors in the inaugural Battle of NorCal, a game the Warriors won 91-90 to claim the first-ever Mitch Richmond Trophy.

In addition to Ellis, the team the Kings will take to Las Vegas includes: Guards Adonis Arms (Texas Tech), Kenan Blackshear (Nevada), Ahmad Caver (Old Dominion), Antoine Davis (Detroit Mercy), Boogie Ellis (USC), Dane Goodwin (Notre Dame), Colby Jones (Xavier) and Mason Jones (Arkansas); forwards Isaiah Crawford (Louisiana Tech), Isaac Jones (Washington State) and Xavier Sneed (Kansas State); and centers Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (Baylor) and Drew Timme (Gonzaga).

Ellis averaged 5.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 0.9 steals in 17.2 minutes per game. He played a key role down the stretch as a starter and defensive catalyst after Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk suffered season-ending injuries. Ellis averaged 7.5 points per game in March and 10.5 in April while helping the Kings post the sixth-best defensive rating (108.8) over the final 15 games.

Rookie first-round draft pick Devin Carter, a combo guard from Providence, has been ruled out for summer league competition. The Kings recently announced Carter will undergo surgery to repair a left shoulder injury.

Other players to watch include Mason Jones, Isaac Jones and Crawford, each of whom will be with the Kings on two-way contracts in 2024-25.

Mason Jones, a 6-4 guard, averaged 16.0 points, 5.2 rebounds and 8.4 assists for the G League Stockton Kings last season. He appeared in five games for Sacramento, averaging 1.4 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 5.6 minutes per contest.

Crawford is a 6-5, 220-pound small forward with a 7-1 wingspan. He averaged 16.3 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.7 blocks as a senior at Louisiana Tech, shooting 48.5% from the field and 41.4% from 3-point range on 3.1 attempts per game. Crawford broke into Louisiana Tech’s starting lineup as a freshman before suffering an ACL injury. He made a full recovery to become the 2024 Conference USA Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

Isaac Jones, a 6-8, 245-pound center, averaged 19.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 blocks to earn second-team All-Big Sky Conference honors at Idaho in 2022-23. He was a first-team All-Pac-12 Conference selection after putting up 15.3 points, 7.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.1 blocks at Washington State in 2023-24.

Jones reportedly worked at a pipe manufacturing company after graduating from high school, but he joined the basketball team at Wenatchee Valley College after growing another five inches. He went on to become the Northwest Athletic Conference Player of the Year after averaging 25.3 points and 13.2 rebounds in his second season before transferring to Washington State.

Las Vegas Summer League schedule

Sacramento Kings

7/12 vs. Grizzlies, 3 p.m. (NBA TV)

7/15 vs. Jazz, 7 p.m. (ESPNU)

7/17 vs. Knicks, 12:30 p.m. (NBA TV)

7/18 vs. Wizards, 4 p.m. (ESPN)

7/20 TBD

7/21 TBD

7/22 Championship game, 6 p.m. (ESPN)