Kings’ Malik Monk gets brutally honest on uncertain future ahead of NBA free agency

It is safe to say that Malik Monk has found a home in the NBA with the Sacramento Kings. But the door is open for the former Kentucky Wildcats high-flyer to leave Sacramento in the summer, as the last year of the two-year, $19.42 million deal he signed with the team back in 2022 is expiring in July.

During Monday’s exit interview, Monk said that he’s very much aware of the proverbial pot of money that could be there for him to take from another team in the offseason via a new deal. However, he also insinuated that whatever decision he makes is not going to be entirely based on the potential financial gains.

“It’s big because I could go somewhere else for a lot of money and be in a worse situation,” Monk said, ((h/t via Sean Cunningham). “So you never know, man, like I said I got a great agent that’s gonna do his job. I think my job is done. I did what I needed to do this year, and it’s gonna play out in the right way,” Monk added.

Monk also opened up about how much he still wants to continue being with the Kings.

“Definitely, Monk replied when asked if he would want to stay in Sacramento ( h/t James Ham of ESPN).

Malik Monk has been comfortable with the Kings

Monk began his NBA journey in 2017 when he was taken in the first round of that year’s NBA Draft by the Charlotte Hornets as the 11th overall selection of the class. He spent his first four seasons in the pros with the Hornets before Charlotte declined to make him a qualifying offer in 2021.

That led to Monk signing a one-year, $1.79 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers for the 2021-22 NBA season. In his lone season with the Lakers, Monk was able to average 13.8 points per game, which was a career-high for him at the time. His stint with Los Angeles also helped rebuild the stock of Monk, who successfully parlayed his solid tenure in LA into a multi-year deal with the Kings.

With the Kings, Monk has embraced a much more defined sixth-man role for him, playing all of his 149 games with Sacramento coming off the bench. He finished sixth in the Sixth Man of the Year award voting in the 2022-23 NBA season and has a shot of winning the honor this season after making the final cut with fellow finalists Naz Reid of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Bobby Portis of the Milwaukee Bucks.

Monk averaged career highs of 15.4 points and 5.1 assists per game this season with Sacramento while shooting 44.3 percent from the field and 35.0 percent from behind the arc. He suffered a late-season ankle injury that forced him to miss the final several Kings games, including contests in the Play-in Tournament, but he should be fine by the start of the 2024-25 NBA campaign.

Kings’ Malik Monk should get significant interest in NBA free agency