1. The Los Angeles Lakers are not even utilizing him properly
This has been one of the most frustrating thing about the Los Angeles Lakers this season. Personally, I fall on the side of not firing Frank Vogel, at least for the rest of this season, but this is one of the counter-points that I simply cannot refute.
The Lakers started Monk for nine games and he was fantastic in those nine games. The young guard was averaging 18.4 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 50.9% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc.
Yes, he was hot and those numbers were not going to stay consistent forever. However, Monk was obviously showing comfort in getting the starting nod with starting minutes and was building true chemistry with LeBron James.
Monk has since been bumped to the bench and while that seemingly does not make much of a difference, it absolutely has for Monk. After scoring 20 or more in six of nine starts, Monk has not scored more than 14 since being moved to the bench and is averaging 10.3 points per game.
I get that his defense is subpar but it is not like his replacement is a defensive wizard. Avery Bradley has gotten the starting nod over Monk and he is the perfect example of a player who fakes it on the defensive end. That’s not to say that Bradley is faking it on the court, but he is not great on the defensive end despite people constantly touting him as a good defender.
Bradley has posted a 0.1 Defensive Box Plus/Minus this season while Monk is sitting at -0.7. The difference is not huge, and when you consider the offensive contributions, it is clear that Monk is a much better player to start.
If the Los Angeles Lakers are not going to properly utilize Monk then it could be telling of their future plans with him.