The Sacramento Kings will have to decide on the future of Malik Monk, who is set to hit free agency this summer.
Last season, Malik Monk was a key contributor to the Sacramento Kings’ 48-win season, which broke their 16-year playoff drought. He is expected to draw several suitors once he hits the open market because he is the frontrunner for this year’s Sixth Man of the Year race.
When he talked about his future with the Sacramento Kings last year, Malik Monk said he would like to stay since Sacramento is 1,000% his home. Now, it looks like he still feels the same way, although he added a little caveat.
“Depends on what we do in the postseason, as well. But I’d love to be here, man,” said Monk in a recent interview with Anthony Slater of The Athletic. “Got comfortable here. Made a lot of new friends, met a lot of great people. The city loves me. I love the city. So, yeah, I’d love to come back.”
Malik Monk is too important for the Sacramento Kings
Malik Monk came to Sacramento via a two-year deal he signed in 2022 after spending one season with the Los Angeles Lakers. With him, De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, and Keegan Murray, the Sacramento Kings have developed into one of the most dynamic offensive units in the NBA.
This season, Monk is averaging 15.9 points, 5.3 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game. An underrated aspect of his solid 2023-24 campaign is that he has only missed one game to this point.
Although he initially didn’t like the idea of coming off the bench, Monk fully embraced his role, as he came off the bench in all 66 games he has played in.
“Hell no, I don’t like it,” Monk said about coming off the bench, via The Athletic. “But s–t, it’s what I got to do for us to win and play better. So I just take the role head-on.”
“He’s extremely important to what we’re trying to build,” Mike Brown said about Monk. “There’s zero question in my head. We 100 percent want him back. He’s the player he is mainly because of him.”
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