Kansas forward Perry Ellis headed to summer league with Dallas Mavericks

Perry Ellis didn’t want to dwell on the negatives after he didn’t hear his name called in Thursday night’s NBA Draft.

Instead, Ellis, a Heights product and two-time All-Big 12 pick for Kansas, wanted to get back to work. Friday, Ellis agreed to play for the Dallas Mavericks’ NBA summer league team in Las Vegas from July 8 to 18.

Ellis worked out for 12 teams headed up to the draft, with the last workout coming on Monday with the Philadelphia 76ers. He watched the draft on Thursday night with friends and family in Wichita.

“You want to get drafted, obviously, but you have to stay positive, stay up,” said Ellis, a three-year starter for Kansas. “I felt like the workouts went really well, but when it came to (the draft) I really had no clue what would happen or that it would turn out the way it did. Now, I’m just excited for the summer league with Dallas.”

Ellis, 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds, averaged 16.9 points and 5.9 rebounds as a senior, helping lead the Jayhawks to the Elite Eight, where they lost to eventual national champion Villanova.

Ellis will be in Wichita until July 4, then head to Dallas for several practices before summer league play begins. The Mavericks had one pick in the NBA Draft on Thursday and selected Purdue center A.J. Hammons in the second round.

Ellis is represented by Priority Sports. He also considered summer league offers from Oklahoma City, San Antonio, Indiana and Atlanta.

“After talking to my agent and looking over some other stuff, Dallas was really the best fit for me,” Ellis said. “The coach there really likes me and it puts me in a good position to be successful.”

This story was originally published June 25, 2016 at 1:27 PM with the headline "Kansas forward Perry Ellis headed to summer league with Dallas Mavericks."