Malik Monk: Goodbye
Malik Monk has been perhaps the best part of the 2021-22 season for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers signed the young, former lottery pick to a minimum contract this offseason and he has proven that every other team was foolish for not being interested in him.
He is someone who I really liked heading into the season and while I have been wrong about a lot of things when it comes to the Lakers, Monk’s breakout season as one of the best microwave scorers off the bench in the league has been spot on.
The problem is that he is going to play himself out of LA. Monk’s agent did say that he hopes he can be a Laker forever but unless Monk is not interested in making money, then he is likely going to be saying goodbye to the Lakers this offseason.
Assuming Westbrook is still under contract next season, the most the Lakers are going to be able to offer Monk is the Taxpayer’s Mid Level Exception, which was worth $5.9 million this season. Chances are that Monk will get at least offers for the Non-Taxpayer’s MLE, which is worth nearly twice as much per year.
Is Monk really going to give the Lakers a huge hometown discount, signing a two-year deal worth just under $12 million when he can sign a four-year deal worth over $40 million? Probably not.