Nets to – The Nets are planning to sign free agent wing Keon Ellis to a two-year, $18MM contract, a deal described as fully guaranteed with a “mutual option.” The move comes as Brooklyn weighs cap pathways and roster priorities, while Ellis arrives from a Cleveland stin
By the time the Nets started mapping out their summer chessboard, one name kept surfacing: Keon Ellis.
Brooklyn plans to sign the free agent wing to a two-year, $18MM contract, with the deal framed as a “mutual option” and described as fully guaranteed. The exact structure is still something the team will have to reveal as the paperwork is finalized.
Ellis isn’t arriving as a new face. He finished his college career at Alabama and spent his first three-plus seasons with the Kings. Ahead of the February deadline, Sacramento traded him to the Cavaliers. In the 2025/26 regular season’s closing stretch. Ellis played well for Cleveland. but the playoffs told a different story: he wasn’t part of the team’s rotation.
For Cleveland, that shift mattered. Retaining Ellis was viewed as a lesser priority as the Cavaliers focus on re-signing fellow free agent Dean Wade.
What the Nets see in Ellis is more specific than hype. Listed at 6’4″ and 175 pounds, he’s considered a bit undersized for a guard/forward role. He’s not viewed as a great play-maker or on-ball scorer. Still, his value shows up in the parts of basketball coaches don’t have to manufacture.
Ellis is an aggressive, active defender who creates lots of turnovers. Over his four NBA seasons, he’s knocked down 40.7% of his three-point attempts. He’s also a strong off-ball cutter, hitting 59.3% of his career attempts inside the arc.
The Nets’ interest isn’t entirely new, either. Marc Stein and Jake Fischer of The Stein Line first connected Ellis to Brooklyn. noting at the time that he has a preexisting relationship with head coach Jordi Fernandez. Fernandez previously served as Sacramento’s top assistant under Mike Brown, who is now the head coach of the Knicks.
Cap mechanics will shape how the Nets make this fit. Yossi Gozlan, a cap expert, notes via Twitter that Brooklyn could sign Ellis using cap room or the room exception. It’s still unclear which pathway the Nets will use as they sort out multiple roster decisions.
Those decisions include Day’Ron Sharpe and Josh Minott—two incumbent Nets who agreed to re-sign with the team. How Ellis’s contract is built, and which cap method is chosen, will determine how much flexibility Brooklyn keeps around them.
Ellis is 26. He entered the league as an undrafted free agent and spent his first four years on two-way and minimum-salary contracts. If this deal lands as described, it comes with a significant pay increase as his career shifts from proving himself to cashing in.
He also arrives with momentum attached to the market: Ellis ranked No. 38 on the list of 2026’s top 50 free agents. Now the Nets are the ones trying to lock in what his defense and three-point shot have offered over the last four seasons—before somebody else makes the bet.
Keon Ellis Brooklyn Nets NBA free agency two-year contract $18MM Jordi Fernandez Day'Ron Sharpe Josh Minott Dean Wade Mike Brown