Malik Monk's quick decision gives the Kings the flexibility to build a contender

After spending the last few weeks preparing for life without Malik Monk, it turns out that all that worrying was for nothing, as recent reports suggest the combo guard is intent on signing a 4-year, 78-million dollar extension to stay with the team.

Monk just did the Kings a massive favor – in more ways than one. For starters, the 2023-24 Sixth Man of the Year (6MOY) runner-up took a massive pay cut to stay with the Kings. As we touched on before, the Detroit Pistons (a team with a ton of cap space) were planning on "heavily pursuing" Monk in free agency.

The Pistons easily could have offered Monk a four-year, 120-million dollar deal. That means Monk could potentially be leaving 10.5 million dollars a year on the table and 42 million dollars over the next four seasons.

Along with the hometown discount he gave them, the other solid Monk did for the Kings was let them craft a plan for the rest of their offseason. With Monk now on the books, the Kings now have their draft picks (13th and 45th in this draft), the Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception (which is worth about 5.2 million this year), the Bi-Annual Exception (4.7 million dollars this year), and veteran minimums available to improve their team. They can also dangle Kevin Huerter, Harrison Barnes, and future draft compensation to put together a tantalizing trade package.

With Monk back in the fold, the Kings no longer have to worry about drafting/signing/trading for his replacement. That means that they can focus on their main area of need: a better starting power forward.

If the Kings can get a good enough starting power forward (likely in a trade) without having to shake up their core (Monk, Domantas Sabonis, De'Aaron Fox, Keegan Murray, and Keon Ellis) they could have enough firepower to seriously compete for an NBA title next season.

Thanks for staying, Malik Monk!