From the moment Malik Monk arrived in Sacramento in 2022-23, it was love at first sight. Monk had a career year in his first season (and a couple of stellar playoff performances), only to take it a step further in 2023-24 – finishing second in Sixth Man of the Year voting.
Monk showed his appreciation for the relentless support of Kings' fans by agreeing to a four-year extension that was cheaper than many people predicted. He also informed them of his decision to return to the team earlier than he had to.
Monk had an up-and-down 2024-25 campaign. He wasn't the reason the Kings didn't get where they wanted to go, but he also wasn't helping the situation all that much. Unfortunately, it seems what started out as a love story may end in a tragic breakup.
The Kings need to consider trading Malik Monk this offseason
The main reason the Kings didn't get where they'd hoped to this season is that, while their roster had talent, it was sorely lacking in balance. The Kings had too many scorers and not enough size, defense, and shooting (a very similar problem to what the Phoenix Suns have run into with their Big 3).
Scott Perry has publicly acknowledged this, stating his desire to add more length/athleticism and traditional ball handling (to make up for the departure of Fox). To do this, the team will probably need to trade one of their core four (Monk, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Domantas Sabonis).
Ideally, the team will want to trade LaVine or DeRozan. However, the former's value is tanked by his massive contract, and the latter also won't command much in a deal because of his age/curious plus-minus impact (although there are still some creative deals out there).
If the Kings are planning on re-tooling, trading Sabonis (their best player) doesn't make much sense, either. That means that Monk is the best option for them to trade.
Monk is on a solid contract. Last season, Monk 17.4 million dollars (per Spotrac) andhe had a production value of 13.9 million dollars, despite missing 17 games. Monk was overburdened as a starting point guard this year, but we have plenty of evidence of his abilities as a high-level bench player.r.
It would be a very sad day to see Monk go, but it may be the decision that makes the most sense for the Kings.