The part of the Malik Monk deal that no one is talking about

When Malik Monk signed a 4-year, 78-million dollar extension before the start of free agency, fans of the Sacramento Kings were pleasantly surprised.

At an average annual value of 19.5 million dollars, Monk took a significant pay cut, as some teams (like the Detroit Pistons) were willing to offer him close to 30 million per year. So, the fact that he not only turned down that payday but also did it so early in the process has raised a lot of eyebrows, and it has been a major talking point among fans.

Monk's New Deal Is Pretty Tradeable

Given how much of a priority the Kings made it to re-sign Monk (one of the best combo guards in basketball), everyone assumes that they are committed to him for the long haul. And considering how much of a relationship Monk has developed with the City of Sacramento, there is no reason to believe that isn't the case.

But one thing no one is talking about is how tradeable Monk's new deal is. It would be hard to move a player of Monk's caliber (62nd percentile in Estimated Plus-Minus, per Dunks & Threes) if he was getting paid 30 million dollars a year.

But at 19.5 million dollars, with a salary cap that isprojected to skyrocket over the next few years, Monk's deal is pretty easily movable (assuming he maintains his current projection).

Why Would The Kings Ever Want To Trade Monk?

Okay, so Monk has a contract that is easy to match in trades. Why would the Kings ever want to move him, though?

Between Monk, De'Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis, DeMar DeRozan, and Kevin Huerter, a big chunk of the Kings' core is comprised of offensively slanted players. Depending on how the next year or two goes, the Kings may realize they need a little more balance and look to shed some of their offense for more two-way role players.

By adding DeRozan this offseason, the Kings have made Monk more expendable. A big reason why Monk has been so important to the Kings over the last two years is that he gives them someone who can create offense when Fox is on the bench. Now, they have DeRozan to fill that role.

So, if their current roster is doing what they want it to, the Kings may look to shake things up by moving Monk to a team that needs his services for a player that better fits our current needs.

One deal that comes to mind is with the Orlando Magic. The Magic are a defense-first team that desperately needs more on-ball creation. I could see a world where the Kentavious Caldwell-Pope signing doesn't help them as much as they thought it would, and they could be willing to move him for a player like Monk.

Since Caldwell-Pope is the better player between the two (78th percentile in EPM), the Kings would likely need to add some draft capital to the deal. But thanks to their similar salaries (Caldwell-Pope's AAV is 22 million, per Spotrac), working out a trade that makes sense financially wouldn't be that hard.

As someone who cherishes the relationship Monk has with this team and city, I hope this day never comes. But that doesn't mean we can't acknowledge the possibility.