One reason why the Sacramento Kings were comfortable with trading De'Aaron Fox (outside of the fact that he no longer wanted to be there) was because Malik Monk looked ready to don full-time point guard responsibilities.
In the 28 games that he started before Zach LaVine was traded to the Kings, Monk averaged 19.7 PPG and 6.8 APG on 55.9% true shooting. The Kings carried a 16-12 record in those games (57.1% win rate). However, in the seven games since LaVine joined the lineup, Monk is averaging just 16.4 PPG and 5.6 APG on 48.7% TS. The Kings are 3-4 in those games (42.9% win rate).
What does this mean for Monk and the Kings?
At first glance, one could look at these numbers and say that Monk simply isn't equipped to handle primary guard responsibilities. However, those criticisms are missing the fact that Monk fared just fine in a three game stretch without Fox or LaVine in early January. In that stretch, Monk averaged 23.7 PPG and 8.7 APG on 52.3% true shooting. The Kings did not lose any of those games, going a perfect 3-0.
I still think Monk can handle a larger role than the one he had in the last two seasons for the Kings. The real problem here is that playing him, LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and Domantas Sabonis in the starting lineup puts you at a major disadvantage on the defensive side of the ball.
As a result, it would give the team a lot more lineup balance if they moved one of Monk, LaVine, or DeRozan to the bench in favor of a stronger defender like Keon Ellis (79th percentile in Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus, per Dunks & Threes).
The Kings owe LaVine way too much money to seriously consider benching him at this point in time (roughly 96.5 million after this season, per Spotrac). I think DeRozan should be the one to come off the bench because he's not as good of a passer or spacer as Monk, but he's been playing much better lately, and given his veteran prestige, it is hard to justify moving him to the bench for a player who has never even been an All-Star.
So, Monk may have to be the odd man out here. When Monk shocked the basketball world by quickly agreeing to an extension with the Kings, he likely envisioned that he could move into the starting lineup. Unfortunately, circumstances may force him to shift back into a sixth man role, at least temporarily.