To many, Malik Monk is the heart and soul of the Sacramento Kings. To others, he's part of a past the franchise is currently trying to move on from. The Kings keep dipping their toes in the trade waters for Monk, then pulling back. Now, they might have no choice but to fully dive in and make it happen.
This is a hard one for a lot of Sactown fans. Monk is the team's sixth man, the guy who comes off the bench to make big plays when the team needs him the most. He lost out on the Sixth Man of the Year Award a couple of years ago to Naz Reid, a player who is beloved as a member of the Timberwolves.
Well, he was a member of the Wolves. Minnesota recently sent him to Charlotte as part of the trade with the Hornets that brought LaMelo Ball to Minneapolis. Considering how popular Reid was among Wolves fans, it's safe to say that a few of them are probably rather upset about the situation.
The same could be true if the Kings finally trade Monk. During the all-too-brief Beam Team era, he came off the bench as a fire starter. Monk was the guy to ignite the second line and get some seriously clutch baskets. But the NBA is always changing, and Monk could be on the move.
It's time to make a move on Monk
Sacramento has been circling a trade involving Monk since the end of the 2024-2025 season. It didn't go well, reportedly because the asking price was too high. The Kings would continue to field offers, but seemed to pull back from it once the season got rolling. Then, everything got real weird.
Head coach Doug Christie couldn't seem to make up his mind on whether he wanted to put Monk to work or not. There would be runs when Monk was on the court every game, then suddenly on the bench for several games in a row. It's an indication that the new Kings don't see how he fits in.
Monk is a great guy to have in a rotation and has a lot of value as a shooter in the secondary. If the Kings don't believe he fits into the rebuild, then they need to do right by him and find a trade. Other teams like the Heat, Pistons, and Lakers could put him to work quite handily.
The other side of this is the fact that Monk has two years left on his contract worth a combined total of over $41 million dollars. There's also the issue that the Kings need to make roster space. Taking that all into account, it's increasingly obvious that a trade is all but inevitable for Monk.
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