Ever since Doug Christie took over as the Sacramento Kings' head coach, how Malik Monk fits the roster has become increasingly unclear. That's just going to get worse if the Kings finally sign a veteran point guard or two. Monk is slowly disappearing from the depth chart at both guard positions.
There was a time not that long ago that Monk was a legit contender for Sixth Man of the Year. While Naz Reid ultimately won, that doesn't change the fact that Monk was a key player for the Kings during their brief Beam Team era. His scoring off the bench was absolutely clutch.
More recently, no one seems to be sure how he fits this roster, or what the Kings' approach is to properly utilizing him. In 2025-2026, Monk would go three or four games as a healthy scratch, then suddenly get minutes in two consecutive games. After that, back to the bench for a stretch.
With the roster now loaded with rookies and sophomores clamoring for minutes, and potentially a pair of veteran point guards on the way, Monk is in danger of falling into obscurity on this roster. His bench time could continue to climb higher and higher in 2026-2027.
The Kings' projected depth chart looks bad for Monk
On their current projected depth chart, Monk is listed as Sacramento's third string shooting guard behind starter Zach LaVine and secondary Nique Clifford. At point guard, he's the secondary behind Darius Acuff Jr. That's the issue that the Kings are trying to fix on their hunt for a veteran PG.
Monk is a shooting guard first and foremost, and is a passable point guard at best. The Kings are currently looking at players like Ben Simmons and Cam Payne to be Acuff's backup and mentors. There is real potential both get signed, pushing Monk back to fourth on the depth chart at PG.
Nothing is guaranteed at shooting guard, either. The Kings are betting heavily on Clifford this season, which makes sense. But they could also decide to prioritize developmental minutes for Emanuel Sharp and Daeqwon Plowden over Monk. That moves him from third to fifth on the depth chart.
A lot can change between now and the regular season. This is all based on a projected depth chart as well as assumptions about future Kings' signings and developmental focus. Still, watching Monk's decline in minutes plus recent trade attempts seem to indicate the Kings are moving away from him.
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