Seven-Year Veteran Shooting Guard Re-Signs with the Kings
Back in 2022, Malik Monk signed a two-year deal with the Sacramento Kings. Monk was a key part of Sacramento’s offense, and some would definitely say he had a case for either the Sixth Man of the Year Award or the Most Improved Player Award before he went down for the rest of the regular season dealing with a sprained MCL which usually takes about four to six weeks to recover from. The ninth-seeded Kings went on to face the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the Play-In Tournament winning 118-94 then taking on the New Orleans Pelicans in the second round of the Play-In, but the Pelicans took care of business winning 108-95, eventually becoming the eighth seed in the Western Conference. Now, that the seven-year veteran shooting guard is now a free agent, it was just announced that Monk has signed a four-year deal, worth $78 million to stay in Sacramento with the Kings.
During the 2017 NBA Draft, Malik was drafted as the 11th overall pick by the Charlotte Hornets. He would slowly start playing more minutes after each season, as in his fourth and final year in Charlotte, Monk played about 21 minutes a night averaging 12 points a game. In the summer of 2021, the now 26-year-old shooting guard signed with the Los Angeles Lakers. On April 10th, 2022, Monk dropped 41 points, a career-high during a 146-141 win over the Denver Nuggets. A year later, he signed a two-year, 19 million dollar deal with the Kings, becoming an integral part of the offense for the Kings bench. On February 23rd, 2023, the seven-year veteran shooting guard dropped a new career-high of 45 points in a ridiculous 176-175 win over the Los Angeles Clippers, which became the second-highest scoring game in NBA history. Sacramento played the Golden State Warriors during the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs, and in a Game One win, Monk recorded 32 points, going 14-14 from the free throw line, this ties Ed Macauley’s record for the most free throws without a miss in a playoff debut.
Last season in 72 games played, Monk averaged about 15 points, three rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block in 26 minutes of action a game. He recorded about two turnovers a game which was a new career-high through his seven-year career. On March 1st during a 124-120 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, the seven-year veteran shooting guard dropped 39 points, four rebounds, and four assists. With the Kings, Monk will look to win an NBA championship and showcase how far he’s developed from his days in Charlotte.
