Getty Lakers superstar LeBron James.
The Los Angeles Lakers have been a walking disaster this season despite LeBron James putting up incredible numbers. The four-time MVP, who is 37 and in his 19th campaign, is averaging 29.5 points, 8.1 rebounds and 6.2 assists, but the Lakers are only 29-40.
LeBron has been one of two bright spots for the Lakers this season. The other has been the play of Malik Monk, who is putting up 12.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 46.4% from the field, 39.4% from beyond the arc and 76.7% from the free-throw line.
LeBron has been a fan of Monk for a long time and believes the Kentucky product possesses something that the Lakers lack.
“He brings a knockout punch that — to be completely honest with you — we haven’t had on our roster since I got here,” LeBron told Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “Someone that can literally, if he makes one, it can be two, three, four, five in a row.”
Monk spent the first four years of his career with the Charlotte Hornets. Despite averaging 9.1 points and shooting 33.9% from deep with the Hornets, the Arkansas native only received interest from three teams last summer: the Dallas Mavericks, New York Knicks and Lakers.
After the Hornets renounced their free-agent exception rights to Monk, the youngster signed a one-year, $1.8 million contract with the Lakers. LeBron was thrilled about the move and the purple and gold have been impressed by how well Monk has played this season.
Monk Had Been on Lakers’ Radar for Years
When Jason Kidd was an assistant coach on the Lakers, he and LeBron would always talk about Monk. Kidd would watch Hornets games with LeBron and tell the King and the rest of the Lakers coaching staff about how he tried to trade for Monk when he coached the Milwaukee Bucks.
“Me and J-Kidd were talking all the time like, ‘Is there a way we can snatch this guy from [Charlotte’s] roster?'” LeBron told McMenamin.
The Lakers drafted Lonzo Ball with the second overall pick in the 2017 draft. However, they scouted Monk extensively, which is why general manager Rob Pelinka was excited to add him last summer.
“I remember when UCLA played Kentucky. We were looking at Lonzo and De’Aaron Fox. [But] Malik has just been really a standout [since then] because of the combination of his athleticism and his shooting,” Pelinka told McMenamin. “So, definitely a player we’ve tracked for some time — and early in the free-agency process, [we] reached out.”
Monk is fifth on the Lakers in points per game and second in made 3-pointers. According to ESPN’s front office insider Bobby Marks, the Lakers will be able to re-sign him only by either offering him 120% of the veteran minimum (roughly $2 million) or using the taxpayer’s midlevel exception, estimated to be worth around $6.3 million.
It’s possible Monk has played his way out of Los Angeles, but Pelinka is hopeful that’s not the case.
Pelinka on Monk: ‘The Partnership Has Been a Win from Both Sides’
Pelinka has enjoyed working with Monk and wants the explosive guard to be on the Lakers next season since he’s meshed well with LeBron.
“The partnership has been a win from both sides,” Pelinka told McMenamin. “Both for the Lakers, in terms of the productivity he’s had for us and then I think on his side, just showing people what he can do in big moments in big games. … He’s a guy that we would see as hopefully a part of our future.”
It will be fascinating to track Monk’s future this summer when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. The Lakers need his shooting and playmaking next to LeBron and Anthony Davis, but they might not have the money to re-sign him.