A career high for Malik Monk; now can he smooth out the wild highs and lows?
If there’s a question the NBA’s Feb. 6 trade deadline should beg for the Charlotte Hornets, it’s this:
Do we know, 2 1/2 seasons in, what Malik Monk is?
He’s confounding. Two games removed from coach James Borrego choosing not to play him a minute in Denver, Monk scored a career-high 31 points in Friday’s loss to the Milwaukee Bucks in Paris. That 31 was not gunning; Monk made 10 of 17 shots from the field. He got to the foul line nine times. He had five assists and five rebounds.
Heck, he even had a spectacular block of Ersan Ilyasova; when Monk is dynamic defensively, you know he’s soaring.
Will this maintain? It hasn’t so far. Young players have ups and downs, but Monk, the 11th overall pick in 2017 out of Kentucky, has wild extremes. If that ever changes, he’s a keeper even if he’s never a starter.
If not, then I could certainly see general manager Mitch Kupchak throw him into a deal.
The New York Knicks are reportedly curious about Monk. The Knicks are big on trading for young guys in need of a fresh start; for instance former N.C. State point guard Dennis Smith, Jr..
I don’t know if Monk yet needs that change. I doubt he wants out of Charlotte. However, I feel little more conviction as to what he’ll be in the NBA now than I did the night they drafted him.
I do know this: When he reminds himself to drive, instead of defaulting to jump shots, Monk unleashes a whole new profile. Unfortunately, that happens sporadically.
‘Do what you do best’
Listen to what point guard Devonte Graham said when asked about Monk’s performance:
“I tell him all the time, ‘Be aggressive! Do what you do best!’ When he plays like that, you’ve just got to keep feeding him.”
Graham isn’t alone. Monk gets it from every corner of that locker room.
“Te, Marv (Wililiams), Coach, everybody!” Monk said. “They say when I (go) downhill and put my mind to score (at the rim) everything else opens up.”
Of all the good work Monk did Friday, those nine free-throw attempts matter most; he is the best athlete on the roster in Kupchak’s estimation, but too often that goes to waste. Driving hard to the rim and forcing opponents to hack — “hunting hands” the Hornets call it — is essential to Monk piling up games like Friday instead of them being a once-a-month tease.
Buying time
I got some questions in October when the Hornets chose to exercise the $5.34 million option on Monk’s contract for next season. Some fans saw that as a bad bet that the Hornets should have passed.
In the grand scheme of the Hornets’ payroll, guaranteeing Monk that money was an affordable gesture of confidence in his potential. Pragmatically, it also enhanced Monk’s trade value. ESPN front-office insider Bobby Marks, a former Brooklyn Nets executive, told me it would have been tough to deal Monk for anything much if the receiving team didn’t still control his rights in 2020-21.
Which way does this go? I haven’t a clue. But I do know this with conviction:
If Monk takes stock, not only of what he did Friday, but how he did it — drive hard, force defenders to foul, create easy baskets for others — there is no worry about his NBA future.
Here or anyplace else.
This story was originally published January 25, 2020 at 10:32 AM.
