The Sacramento Kings headed to Portland to take on the Trail Blazers last night, losing by one point in overtime. Honestly, the injury-ravaged roster played well. Despite being healthy, Malik Monk didn't play at all, a strange turn of events for the Kings' resident Sixth Man and a key bench player.
Going into the first round of their back-to-back games against the Blazers, Sacramento was once again on a losing streak. Unfortunately, they added to it last night and now sit at six and 21 in the Western Conference. Fortunately, the Clippers and Pelicans also keep losing, so they're worse.
It was good to see the amount of fight in the Kings, both on offense and on defense. They went into the game with Domantas Sabonis, Zach LaVine, and Drew Eubanks all out with injuries. This led to some changes to the starting lineup that included Precious Achiuwa at small forward.
The Kings only ended up losing by one point in overtime, which should give fans a lot of hope that they could pick up a win tomorrow when they take on the Blazers at home. But the weird thing was that Malik Monk rode the bench for the entire evening, something fans aren't used to seeing.
Malik Monk on the bench is an odd choice
For the past few seasons, Monk has been an important player for the Kings. He is easily their best bench player and has quick impact when he enters the game. They did try to start him as point guard after the departure of De'Aaron Fox, but it did not go well at all. He's a bench guy, without question.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, the Sacramento Kings do not have a trade in the works involving Malik Monk at this time. I’m told this is a coaching decision. https://t.co/QnQ78gLPxY
— Jason Anderson (@JandersonSacBee) December 19, 2025
Against the Blazers, head coach Doug Christie made the choice to bench Monk. In his post-game media availability, Christie said the glut of guards on the team makes it hard to play everyone, and he made the call to go with Keon Ellis over Malik Monk. Oddly enough, that makes sense.
Christie is absolutely right in his point about the guards. And Ellis did deliver some big defensive plays. He finished with 10 points, four rebounds, three assists, and six steals. That's a good evening's work, though he also had five fouls and three turnovers. Ellis needs to clean up his game.
This might be a sign that Christie is warming up to Ellis a bit and may be seeing the value he has. At the same time, benching Monk could also be a sign that the Kings are preparing to move on from him. He has been part of numerous trade rumors since the end of last season, after all.