The Kings are running it back with their version of the microwave.
Free agent guard Malik Monk has agreed to rejoin the Sacramento Kings on a four-year, $78 million contract, according to ESPN’s senior NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
This was the most money along with years that the Kings could offer Monk with his early Bird rights. It says a lot about his personality and commitment, wanting to help a young team win and not just chasing the biggest bag, that Monk signed before even testing free agency. He could have been offered up to $100 million by other teams and it is without a shadow of a doubt that someone would have gone higher than Sacramento. The Orlando Magic would have made complete sense considering their lack of perimeter shooting, a much-needed scoring punch off the bench and from an economic standpoint.
Here’s how Monk’s contract breaks down annually.
2024/25- $17.4M
2025/26- $18.8M
2026/27- $20.2M
2027/28- $21.6M (Player Option)
Monk, who finished as the Sixth Man of the Year runner up right behind the Minnesota Timberwolves Naz Reid after averaging a career high 15.4 points and 5.1 assists this season, provides instant offense for the Kings and has clearly found a comfort zone and a home that he was not interested in leaving, even with the prospect of more money likely being available.
Monk’s season ended prematurely in the worse way possible, due to a sprained MCL that he sustained during a March 29 loss to the Dallas Mavericks cost him the final nine games of the 2023-24 regular season and the play-in tournament. Monk had nine 25-point games off the bench for the Kings, the most since Eddie Johnson did it for the Kings in the 1986-87 season, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
Monk also played for the Charlotte Hornets and Los Angeles Lakers earlier in his career, although he never quite lived up to the hype and pressure surrounding him as the No. 11 overall pick of the 2017 NBA draft out of Kentucky during his first four seasons for Charlotte.
It has been quite the meteoric rise for Monk over the last two years with the Kings after he was only able to command the veteran’s minimum salary with the Lakers the summer of 2021. He played well for the Lakers, and has broken out with the Kings.
In 2023-24, Monk led all reserves in total points and assists and was one of only two players in the past 25 years to have 1,000 points and 300 assists as a bench player, according to ESPN Stats. He also carded the highest assist percentage on drives among all players. He confuses defenses in multiple ways, even as a high-flying lob finisher from the guard position.
For Sacramento, this puts to bed one of their biggest worries of the off season and it allows them the flexibility to focus on free agency and the draft (they own the No. 13 pick) knowing that Monk is on board on a pretty team-friendly deal. Monk can officially sign the contract with Sacramento on July 6.
While he posted a then-career-best 13.8 points per game in his one season for the Lakers in 2020-21, he seemed to fully buy in to the Kings system and program and helped turn them into a Western Conference threat.
At just 26 years old, he also figures to be a prominent piece of their core for the coming years as they look to take the next step from playoff candidate to true title contender.
