3 Most overpaid Sacramento Kings players on next season's roster

Mar 21, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA;  Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (0) dribbles top the court during the first half against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 21, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (0) dribbles top the court during the first half against the Washington Wizards at Capital One Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports | Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
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2. Malik Monk

Average Annual Value: 19.5 million dollars

Production Value: 9.9 million dollars

Difference: -9.6 million dollars

It's funny. The contract that Kings fans were the most excited about this offseason also turned out to be one of the worst based on this formula. At an average annual value of 19.5 million dollars, Monk is making nearly twice as much as his 2.9 EW would suggest.

Part of the reason Monk's production value is so low is that he missed the last nine games of the season with a strained MCL. If he had stayed healthy and maintained his same EW pace, Monk's production value would have been 11.2 million dollars, decreasing the disparity between his average annual value and production value down to 8.3 million dollars.

The main reason that Monk's production value is so low, though, is likely because his player archetype (an offensively-inclined combo guard who isn't good enough to be a team's offensive number one) isn't worth that much.

Now, this isn't to say the Kings shouldn't have handed that contract out to Monk. The way the salary cap works, you have to overpay to avoid losing players like Monk for nothing. It's the same reason the Miami Heat paid Tyler Herro or that the Golden State Warriors paid Jordan Poole. In those situations, the teams had to do it, but that doesn't change the fact that their salaries made them overpaid.

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