Hornet Malik Monk medically cleared after positive COVID-19 test, will practice soon
Charlotte Hornet Malik Monk has been medically cleared after a positive COVID-19 test, and could start practicing as soon as this weekend.
Monk was scheduled for individual workouts Thursday and Friday, under NBA protocols. Coach James Borrego said Monk can rejoin his teammates Saturday and there’s an outside chance he’d play in Monday’s home preseason game against the Toronto Raptors.
“He has a good base — in the offseason, he had some good work,” Borrego said Thursday of Monk’s chances of bouncing back quickly. “Hopefully he’s not lost all the work he’s put in. I don’t anticipate that.”
Monk was one of 48 players to test positive for COVID-19 in the NBA’s pre-camp canvassing. He was the only Hornet diagnosed with COVID-19 in that initial testing. Borrego said last week that Monk had not shown symptoms of the disease.
The Hornets play the Raptors in the first of two preseason games Saturday at 7 p.m. Charlotte hasn’t played since the season was halted March 11 in Miami by the pandemic. The Hornets were not among the 22 NBA teams chosen as part of the league’s restart on Disney’s campus near Orlando, Fla., to complete the season.
Monk had his best sustained stretch in his three NBA seasons in February. Over 13 games, he averaged 17 points and shot 45.3% from the field. He played more aggressively, driving hard to the rim rather than settling for jump shots.
Then his season abruptly ended Feb. 26 when the NBA suspended him under the league’s anti-drug policy. Monk was reinstated during the three months the NBA was on hiatus.
Monk was part of the Hornets’ two-week mini-camp in late October. He took responsibility in an October interview for his suspension.
“I did it. I took my consequences for it,” Monk said of the suspension, which cost him eight games and roughly $200,000 in salary. “I think I’m making up for it right now.
“I’m in a great place with my mind and my body. The responsibility now is even bigger for me to stay like this, instead of swerving off a little bit.”
This is a huge season for Monk, the last on his rookie-scale contract from being the 11th overall pick in the 2017 draft after a single season at Kentucky.
If the Hornets don’t extend Monk’s contract, they would instead have the option to restrict his free agency next summer with a one-season, $7.3 million qualifying offer.
Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak has called Monk as talented as any player on last season’s roster. However, the Hornets now have a crowded backcourt; in addition to starting guards Devonte Graham and Terry Rozier returning, the Hornets drafted LaMelo Ball third overall.
This story was originally published December 9, 2020 at 4:05 PM.
