Los Angeles Lakers potential trade target: Malik Monk
Malik Monk is someone who came into the league with moderately high expectations as a lottery pick in the 2017 NBA Draft and just has not lived up to those expectations thus far. Now, with Terry Rozier on the team, Monk has been relegated to the bench and only started one game for the Hornets this season.
The Hornets have depth in the backcourt and absolutely could afford to trade Monk for the right price. Plus, the 2020-21 season is his last before becoming a restricted free agent, making it even easier for the Hornets to field calls on the young guard.
The intrigue for the Los Angeles Lakers would exist under the circumstances where Rajon Rondo won’t be on the team next season, which is likely, and the team wants to fill out the depth in the backcourt. The team could split Rondo’s minutes between an addition of minutes to Alex Caruso as well as minutes to Monk.
What makes Monk intriguing, especially as far as the Lakers are concerned, is that he is not someone who needs the ball in his hand to succeed and can be a great off-ball scorer. He has not really gotten the chance to do that in Charlotte and with LeBron James as his teammate, we might start seeing the college version of Monk return.
Monk was fantastic in his one year at Kentucky and even shot 39.7 percent from beyond the arc. He has all the makings of being a great off-ball scorer in the NBA and just has not been in the right fit.