5 Moves the Kings need to make during the 2024 offseason
By Mat Issa
![Feb 14, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (0) and forward Domantas Sabonis (10) and guard De'Aaron Fox (5) react in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports Feb 14, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (0) and forward Domantas Sabonis (10) and guard De'Aaron Fox (5) react in the fourth quarter against the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3531,h_1986,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/88/01j0hgffpx7pae8ge824.jpg)
Despite it not being the time that the games are played, championships are won and lost in the regular season. Before the Denver Nuggets won the 2023 NBA title, they orchestrated a trade to acquire "three-and-D" stud Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the 2022 offseason. The Boston Celtics have won playoff enough games to now be one game away from hoisting the Larry O'Brien Trophy. But to get there, they needed to trade for Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis during the 2023 offseason. You get the point.
If the Sacramento Kings are going to follow in their footsteps, they will need to have a strong 2024 offseason. With that in mind, here are five moves they need to make to maximize this offseason.
Move #1: Re-Sign Malik Monk
This one seems like the most obvious part of the plan, but just in case you needed a reminder of what Malik Monk means to this team, here it is.
Not only was Monk this season's Sixth Man of the Year (6MOY) Runner-Up, but he was also one of the Kings' most important offensive players (and one of the best combo guards in the league). Last season, he was third on the team in Offensive Estimated Plus-Minus (OFF EPM) behind only De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis (per Dunks & Threes). He's also one of the game's most underrated passers, ranking in the 88th percentile in Passer Rating (per Thinking Basketball). The Kings' offense will be missing a serious punch if they don't have Malik giving them a spark off the bench.
Malik Monk’s playmaking is vastly underrated…
— NBA University (@NBA_University) March 21, 2024
Assists on 16.9% of his drives—highest in the ENTIRE NBA. Despite only playing 26.3 MPG he gets more assists on drives than guys like Luka, SGA, Trae, Hali, etc. Electric speed & pull-up threat creates advantages over & over again. pic.twitter.com/Epn4QxMhqB
The worst part is that if they can't resign him, the Kings will only have the Non-Taxpayer MLE (which is worth about 12.9 million dollars) to try and replace him. Considering all that Malik brings to the table, that will be a pretty hard task to fulfill.