While the Detroit Pistons absolutely demolished the Sacramento Kings today, Malik Monk still showed up in a big way. Not only was he a leader on offense, but he also turned out to be the Kings' most effective defender, as well. He proved that the Kings still need him on the roster.
The trade rumors surrounding Sacramento as the NBA descends towards the trade deadline are completely off the rails. They have multiple big-name players they want to move, and at least 60% of the league has been linked to one or more of them at different points in the last few weeks.
One of those players is Malik Monk, someone the Kings' front office seems to be flip-flopping on trading him on what feels like a day-to-day basis. The last reports were that Sacramento had decided to keep him, but that could have also been a negotiating tactic.
At this point, the Kings are basically ready to trade anyone on the roster. The safe assumption should be that no player is safe. If the right offer gets made, any and all members of the team are possibilities. That being said, Monk just showed the Kings why they should keep him around.
Malik Monk is one of the best bench players in the league
A few weeks back, the Kings went through a weird run when Monk was benched for several games. Head coach Doug Christie chalked it up to the logjam at the guard positions. Many people speculated it was because he was about to get traded, and Christie didn't want to waste minutes on him.
Since his return to the regular bench lineup, Monk has been playing both great and consistent basketball. That includes today's performance against the Pistons, a game he finished with 19 points, one rebound, two assists, one steal, and three blocks. It was impressive.
Monk was ultimately the highest scorer on the Kings' roster as well as collecting the most blocks. He came off the bench to be both a leader on offense and defense, which is the type of player the Kings are going to need as they push forward through this rebuild.
Malik was good before, but in the last several games, he seems to be pushing himself to be even better. A veteran sparkplug who can impact both ends of the court while being a bench leader is a player any and every team needs. The Kings are not immune to that reality.