The Sacramento Kings are now no longer looking into trading Malik Monk, according to a new report from Marc Stein in The Stein Line.
Earlier this month, Monk was reported to have been offered to the Golden State Warriors in exchange for Jonathan Kuminga.
Here is what Stein had to say:
“After Sacramento explored various trade scenarios earlier this summer involving Malik Monk, league sources say that the Kings are not actively engaged in such trade talks now. The Kings have maintained an interest in unsigned free agent Russell Westbrook, sources say, but I’m told that they have indeed explored the possibility of creating a backcourt opening for Westbrook by other means rather than dealing Monk. Monk is said to have made a positive impression in Sacramento not only with his play but how he has embraced his role and the franchise as a King.”
This all sounds like the Kings were just unable to trade Monk and are accepting he will be back next season. Monk would rejoin the majority of a roster that finished 9th in the Western Conference and got blown out in the Play-In Tournament. Monk still has three years left on his contract, over which he will make more than $60 million.
How do you feel about where things stand with Monk? And how do you feel about the consistent interest in Westbrook?
Monk is my favorite King from this era. Never complains, loves to play here, fires up the fans, makes a few brilliant plays every game… he’s a great piece and should stay here. Nearly everyone else can be dealt or let go imo, but I appreciate Monk.
I like Malik which means King in Arabic.
Kuminga means I can’t pass in English
I thought Malik meant “inconsistent shooter and poor defender”.
Yeah, so like he said. It means King, it just means something more like Sacramento King.
Love Monk, but has to get the efficiency and consistency back to where it was a few years ago. His 21-22 season in LA was probably his best season in terms of efficiency and advanced stats. His 22-23 season was pretty good too, but slowly starting to revert to his CHA from…an inefficient chucker.
Alot of teams probably notice too, that’s why there’s not many takers for him and his contract.
I like Monk and while I don’t disagree with those issues, I wonder how many of them have come from the poor construction of the team around him and the roles they’ve had him play.
He shouldn’t be a primary ball-handler, and he should be a complementary player; when too much is demanded of him—and he’s surrounded by guys like Derozan and Lavine—it’s hard to envisage him being able to be the best version of himself on the court.
I do get what you’re saying about other factors that can impact a player’s effectiveness, but none of it bears on a given player making or missing a wide-open shot.
Is it can’t or won’t?
both
I feel it’s become painfully apparent to Perry/Vivek that the majority of the large contracts on this team (LaVine, DDR, Monk, Schröder) are not valued in the new CBA. Last year’s 6MOY (Prichard) is making $7M, The runner up (Beasley) is still unsigned and there is no money left, and 3rd place (Ty Jerome) just signed for $9M per year. Meanwhile, Monk, a one way player who can’t shoot from 3, is on the hook for $60M over the next 3 years.
The Kings have killed Keon’s value, now that he will be a UFA next summer, Sabonis, although still very good, makes a lot as well. Keegan is likely the only real target for other teams, which means the Kangz will screw that up as well.
If the Kings still do go and sign Westbrook it would make absolutely no sense from a roster perspective. It would be a financial move to sell jerseys, put butts in seats, and that’s about it. I see it as no different than Z-Bo, Rondo, and Vince Carter.
This smells like Vivek. I haven’t been on here for a bit and coming back It’s always a reminder of how idiomatic this owner is.
And adding Westbrook would be hilarious.
Fixed that for you…
Well done.
Dammit, Monte! How could you leave me saddled with all these bad contracts like *checks notes* my number one offseason acquisition…
Honestly, they should have just signed Russ for the minimum and used the money to re-sign Keon instead of signing Schroeder. Schroeder isn’t a long term answer. I think they just make bad decision after bad decision, then make another bad decision to cover the prior bad decision. Kangz cycle.
The Schröder contract seems egregiously bad at this point, especially when compare to the contracts other guards got this summer. It’s doubly bad when you take Monk into consideration because he truth is Dennis and Malik are not that dissimilar. Both are kind of combo guards that are best served as 6th men. The Kings now have $70M tied up in them for the next two years.
I almost wonder if Perry rushed in on Dennis by misreading the market and feeling he could move on from Monk. Now, it seems he overpaid for Dennis and can’t move Monk. What a mess.
This does not sound like the Kings front office I know, lets overpay for a PG who has bounced around the league most of the league and didn’t really any other offers for a multi year deal
I get that Monk can be a little feast of famine but he seemingly likes playing here, he is an emotional leader and is a great watch. Is he an over pay, maybe but I’d rather watch him than Lavine getting three times as much and looks like he doesn’t care
This is the kind of thing that happens when you hire a GM who hasn’t been involved in GMing in years and and assistant GM that hasn’t been in a front office in years.
Do we even have a cap guy anymore?
The difference in value between Russ on the minimum v. Schroder on the deal we signed him to is nuts and once again emphasizes the utter incompetence of this franchise.
Schroder signing is nuts you say?
Oof. Try again.
I agree, only the Kings would make a mistake like that. I’d honestly rather have Russ for one year compared to Schroeder and his contract. Then find the PG of the future in the draft next year hopefully, DS is not part of the long term plan so might as well went with a cheaper, shorter term option. Shroeder should’ve been signed for something like 2yrs/24M, not the bigger contract he got.
Asking for a friend, but is the Kings fanbase really going to be excited to watch the late career Russell Westbrook experience?
I’d wager the fanbase of TKH isn’t thrilled with the idea, but plenty of casual fans will flock to see a future HOFer take a farewell lap in a Kings jersey.
There is a chasm between TKH commenters and the casual fan.
I would be pretty happy with a Westbrook signing. Look, I am already at the circus. And when you are at the circus, you aren’t rooting for fewer clowns to climb out of the car.
Neither Monk nor Schroder’s contracts are particularly large as NBA deals go, and DeRozan’s is still movable, given salary and time remaining. LaVine’s deal is a tough pill, but I think that if he can be the player he has been, he can largely live up to it. That’s optimistic, but far from impossible.
The key for Lavine is having players around him that give him consistent opportunities to be excellent. I expect that Schroder will be helpful on that front, Lavine didn’t have any minutes after he got here when he shared the floor with an actual point guard. The Kings will need more than that, but Clifford is providing solid vibes that he could be one of those players.
My understanding is that Keon can still be offered a deal before 1MAR2026 that would preclude him being available to the highest bidder come summer. I think that will get done, and that Sacramento will retain him at a fair price.
Westbrook, for me, is entirely dependent on what else happens with the roster in order to make acquiring him possible. I’d not bend over backward to sign him, but I do think he’d be helpful in getting his teammates to stay focused and get better. He can certainly be a trainwreck on the court, but there’s no quit in him, and those guys are good to have around.
And I’d be remiss in not mentioning that Rajon Rondo’s straight-up numbers in Sacramento went 11.9/6.0/11.7 with a 3:1 assist to turnover ratio. If Westbrook or anyone else can manage anything like that, even per 36? You make room for him.
Man, there is on brand, and then there is on brand.
“Good thing we couldn’t figure out a way to trade these guys and balance the roster, because we just love them all so much!”
Kangz.
Vivek-like Jerry Jones-like all these billionaires and corporations only cares about $. End of story.
except -ego run amuck
Vivek has a substantial advantage over Jones by virtue of not being an inflamed prolapsed asshole.
Jerry also has 3 championships. So there’s that.
Coming from a Cowboys fan who hates Jerry.
Yeah, nothing but good vibes during Bill Clinton’s first term.
True, but likely still more than Vivek will ever have.
Also if we’re just looking at post Obama’s 2nd term… the senile old man has got the dismissive chap beat easily in terms of first round exits… maybe 7 to 1? I don’t know, I lost count… I’m sure about the 1 though. Here in the Vivek era, we call those “glory years”.
It doesn’t matter, it won’t make anyone feel any better.
I dont trust this team to get a good return for Monk they would probably give away picks just to move him. He is probably the only one who wants to be here. If I was Keon or Keegan I would be trying to get out of Sac it would have to be a huge overpay to stay in basketball hell
The hesitancy to include an unprotected pick (which will likely be in the teens) will just ensure we are in purgatory for the next couple seasons at least.
It’s the only way out of this mess imo.
I wrote this in another post and I don’t understand the hesitancy to remove some or all of the protections to get Kuminga. If he were in the draft at age 22 with his projected potential, he’d be a top 3 pick. The Kings would need some luck to get in the top 3 of the draft, so why not either remove the protections or make it a top 4 protection. This does not assume I think Kuminga is the answer nor would I assume a top draftee is the answer. The only difference is Kuminga would not be on a rookie scale contract, but that’s just a money issue and is a Vivek money issue, not mine.
That’s an interesting way of looking at it, but you’re assuming that he’s about to take a leap.
Over the last 10 years, rookies in the top three average 18.9 (#1pick), 15.7 (#2) and 16.8 (#3) in their rookie years. Kuminga averaged 15.3, but did so in his fourth year as a pro.
I guess the assumption is he makes a leap with a stable but there just aren’t many examples of that happening. I guess the question depends on if you believe he’s more like the “ready to leap” archetype (Fox, McCollum, Maxey, Lavine, Murray, Haliburton) or the “always has potential!” type (Kaminsky, Justice Winslow, Reddish, Josh Jackson, etc).
I tend to believe in Kuminga, but I also think his celling with this roster as constructed is 3rd option after Lavine and Murray. I don’t give up a pick that could be #4/5 overall for that. What I’d rather see right now is Coach Christie say, “look. We know what Keegan can do offensively if given the space to operate. We want him to be our #2 scorer behind Lavine.” (who is better than we tend to give him credit for). If we have an actual system that makes sense and that players buy into I think we have something. If not, same as it ever was I guess.
I wouldn’t make it unprotected unless Moody is in the deal. And I’d really try to make it Derozan instead of Monk.
But yeah best offer I’d make is Monk, Carter, unprotected 26 first for Kuminga and Moody.
Probably won’t get comparable young talent with the pick next year likely between 10-12. 20% chance to jump up, so that’s the risk. With the alternative being doing nothing and having only Keegan and Ellis to build around with late lottery picks.
Agreed, if Moody comes along, I’d make that deal.
Moving my response from the other thread here:
For sure, Kuminga would be a top prospect if went to/stayed in college. But the problem is that we’ve seen him as a pro and there are definitely red flags. It would be potentially catastrophic to give up an unprotected pick for a player you already know doesn’t shoot well, has tunnel vision, blows defensive assignments, not developed well, etc.
That said, my issue is not so much with the particulars of the Kuminga saga itself, but the Kings approach to roster building. Specifically, the lack of patience or any coherent plan. What they should be doing (as most everyone knows) is teardown/rebuild with high lottery picks. That’s what they should be using picks for instead of trading it for the latest Vivek/Perry player-crush.
But we all know they won’t do that, so instead we are left with hoping that they are inadvertently bad enough in 2030 to end up with a high lottery pick (stealth tank). Or have Dallas style luck and land the next Cooper Flagg with a 1.8% chance. For me, the chance of that happening is more valuable than Kuminga. For that matter, even with the offered protections, I think it’s a wash. A pick outside the lottery, which has a decent chance of landing a rotation player, is (for me) no worse value as a flawed Kuminga on a $25m/yr contract.
I still feel bad for Malik after the whole Fox fiasco and all these months of trade shopping is just as bad.
My gut says he has quietly asked for a trade. After he re-signed they fired Brown and traded his BFF. It reminds me how the Kings treated Rudy Gay when they fired Malone right after Gay signed his extension. Rudy wanted out so badly that he opted out of his final year while still recovering from his achilles rupture. Imagine that, opting out of guaranteed money while recovering from a major injury.
You’re probably right. He should’ve loudly asked for a trade but only to a single team. Apparently, that’s how things get done in the league now. :/
Well, if Monk has asked for a trade, he’s also learned that there isn’t much interest in acquiring him that way.
I do feel for Monk because I know that Fox was a huge factor in his coming here, then signing a new deal, but if he ain’t scoring, he’s boring. His contract isn’t particularly bad, but if he’s below league-average from three?
See: level of recent trade interest
I was looking at the roster yesterday and, if everything stays as is, this is what I’d like to see in terms of lineups (keep in mind, what I’d like to see and what I think will happen are different things):
Monk/Schroder
Keon/Clifford/Carter
Lavine/DDR
Keegan/Jones
Sabonis/Eubanks/Raynaud
As you can probably tell, I’m going for shooting and defense around Sabonis. Since Keon and Keegan are the only two guys that defend and score well on the entire roster, they are essential for the starting lineup.
I think Lavine’s best position is the 3 since he’s an elite shooter with good size but questionable handling/playmaking – perfect for the Michael “The Possession Ends Here” Porter Jr. role. The offense should be structured in a way where once the ball hits his hands, he should be ready to let it fly. Having him start at SF with DDR on the bench gives the starting lineup maximum spacing and a clear division of responsibilities.
The most controversial take might be Monk over Schroder but here’s my two cents: 1. Monk is a (marginally) better basketball player and; 2. His chemistry with Sabonis in the PnR is unparalleled and should be prioritized. Schroder’s AST/TO ratio is probably better, but you cannot deny that Monk makes things happen, even if it’s a little messy at times.
As for the bench, Schroder relieves Carter of being a primary playmaker (something that he is not good at) and allows him to focus on being an off-ball terror (something he’s quite good at). But the main thing is that DDR runs the show. When Sabonis is on the court, the team should be run through him in the high post. When Sabonis is off the court, the team will need full effort from DDR to not collapse into the Eubanks-shaped void on offense. Simply put, Sabonis and DDR have different playstyles that don’t gel well together – so keep em’ separated. It’s like how the Nuggets were terrible every time Jokic sat down because they can’t replace him in the offense, so they got Russ to do Russ things with the offense in those minutes instead.
Final note just to point out the Laravia/JV/Lyles sized hole in the frontcourt’s depth chart. I remember when size, length and athleticism was a main priority of the Perry FO. What a joke.
I really hated how the team looked with Monk at PG full time. While I won’t defend the Schroder signing in the bigger scheme of things, I do think the offense will look a lot more coherent with him as the primary ballhandler.
That’s fine. I think the thing I care most about is Lavine starting at the 3 next to Keon/Keegan and DDR off the bench. Just want to be clear where I stand before we inevitably start Lavine at the 2, DDR at the 3 and then spend the rest of the season wondering why the defense is bad and the offense doesn’t work.
100% this is where we are headed. I do not think Christie has the balls to bench either Lavine or DDR.
Offense with monk at PG was fine when Demar wasn’t on the court with him…problem was that Demar was almost always on the court 14/15 most used lineups had demar, no other starter got that respect, INSANE.
The 34 minutes that jwalker group proposed was +25
LEAKED MEMO FROM S. PERRY TO D. CHRISTIE:
Schroeder/Ellis/Carter
LaVine/Monk/RustBrick
Murray/DDR/Clifford
Jones/Raynaud/McDermott
Sabonis/Eubanks
What do you think Doug? Raynaud and Eubanks play spot minutes, looking to break into the regular “Top 8.” Murray will get minutes at 4 with DDR when scoring production lags from Jones, or if he needs help on the perimeter. Clifford will also see the floor on those nights. Raynaud hopefully brings some spacing on nights when it’s needed, without sacrificing too much physicality. Maybe in short minutes? Obviously Domas and LaVine get theirs. Monk and Ellis play every game, but can fight with everyone else for scrap minutes until I find them a trade. Look to play Carter and Clifford whenever and wherever practical as dictated by their level of performance. Rest DDR in the 1st, then lean on him in the 4th. Maybe Russ and Dougie add some cameo garbage time entertainment now and again? Best I can do with what’s currently on the market. Expect record activity this season at the trade deadline.
Let’s shorten Stein’s quote just for Kangz….
Meanwhile Lyles remains unsigned with zero depth added at the 3 or 4 positions (and LaRavia exiting).
Time to terminate Vivek. Trump needs to bring the National Guard to Sacramento to clean up all the crime.
Lyles or Saric? There are two wrong answers to that question.
I like Lyles, he plays smart basketball, defends pretty well, and he doesn’t take shit from anyone. He does a nice job as a small-ball center, and last season’s 34.2% excepted, has been a solid threat from distance in Sacramento.
Lyles back on a 1 year deal might be OK. He has been an adequate backup 4/5. What we really need is a staring PF so Keegan can ply the 3, Lavine the 2 and DDR can back both of those up until traded.
Thank god for the rookies and Isaac Jones. At this point I don’t think anyone besides them on the roster actually wants to be here. Maybe ze German since he’s getting a bag.
Freakin’ LOL. He made such a positive impression that they tried like hell to move him.
There’s a ton of talent on this team. Half of it is at the 2, is the problem. And of them all, Malik is the one I want traded least. So yay.
The problem is that you have about 5 other guys on the squad, 3 of them starter caliber, at the 2 that you have to either play out of position (DBo) or eke out minutes for (Ellis, Carter) to justify having them on the team. But they fanboyed and got fleeced (FLEECED) in a trade for a player that isn’t worth the contract he’s on, IMO, and then overpaid like a mfer for a super-mid pg after realizing you don’t have a single dedicated ball handler on the roster.
The issue isn’t the players at all. I don’t hate LaVine and occasionally he does stuff that has me completely in awe. But I hate that his contract is immovable and he creates a logjam at a position we were already flush with talent and prospects. The “new” FO hasn’t proven they are any more of an improvement over the previous one in any way what-so-ever. And they drafted ANOTHER 2 guard. So yay.
I anticipate there will be some player movement during the season, but I have zero confidence it will lead to balance, improvement, or the playoffs.
Fire Vivek -> Go Kings.
If this season leads to thirty or fewer wins as a result of the aforementioned player movement, I will consider them to be successful transactions.
OT: Just wanted to point out that the league is 24 hours away from the waive and stretch window closing. If any team is looking to cut salary it’s best to do so by tomorrow. Any cuts after tomorrow means the player’s full salary counts against the cap. There are rumors the Heat may waive and stretch Rozier. Dallas is also trying to cut salary. Maybe there is a chance something happens in the next 24 hours with the Kings either via trade or stretch.
I think there is also a non-zero chance DDR could be waived and stretched by tomorrow. I have to think that the Kings have attempted to move him and that he’d love to land with a contender if he was waived. Could there be a situation where the Kings waive DDR and use the new cap space to throw gobs of money at Kuminga to call the Dubs bluff?
Nice to bring this up, Adamsite.
This is from HoopsRumors.com
(bold is mine)
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