June 29, 2018

Malik Monk
PG/SG - 6’3, 200lbs - 20 years old - 1 year of experience

Objectively, this was a pretty terrible season for Monk. Using what little time he had on the court to totally and shamelessly gun up jumpers, including on his short G-League assignment, Monk proved only that he had a lot to learn about his place in the NBA and how to operate within it. He had so relatively little time simply because Steve Clifford felt he could not trust him; worse than the damaging offensive over-aggression was the very poor defence Monk exhibited all year long.

Then again, it was never about this season. It was always about the future, when the Michael Carter-Williams and Julyan Stone types are out of his way, he’s developed some nuance and patience, and the keys are his. Will he be able to do it then?

Maybe. Monk is a good shooter, will become particularly good when he is more judicious, is already a good one off the catch, and will develop over time in this area just as basically every NBA guard except Michael Carter-Williams does. He can create his own shot in isolation, can get to the rim when he chooses to prioritise that, and passes quite well on the move too. He must get stronger, change speeds more, have better control of the handle and learn how to play as a decoy and off-ball threat so as to maximise the abilities he already has, but he has a lot of ability. And he has a lot of upside.

He must however simmer down a bit first. Aggression is good, but not all of these on-ball decisions are.

Player Plan: Three years of rookie scale salary remaining. A piece for the future, the size of which is very much yet to be determined.

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