Malik Monk: Stays with the Los Angeles Lakers on the MLE
This could simply be optimism shining through but it seems like Malik Monk is inevitably going to return to the Los Angeles Lakers and is going to sign the Taxpayer MLE to do so. The MLE will pay Monk $6.4 million next season as he would likely sign it as a one-year deal.
Monk was the biggest revelation for the Lakers last season as he far outperformed his value as a minimum signing. The team should be doing anything it can to retain Monk this offseason and while Rob Pelinka’s hands are tied, Monk has said he would consider giving LA a discount to return.
The Lakers just have to promise that it is going to be worth his while if he does return on a discount to LA. Los Angeles essentially has to promise him that the team will re-sign him to a bigger deal after his one-year MLE contract is up, likely in the three-year, $36 million range.
While Monk has said that he would take a discount and now the MLE is wide open for him to sign with Kyrie Irving not coming to the team, it would still be really hard to blame the sharpshooting guard if he left. If another team is offering him twice as much as the Lakers per season with 3-4 years under contract then it would be shocking to see Monk turn that down.
However, his value probably isn’t that high on the open market. A $3 million pay cut is an easier thing to stomach and with his comments in mind, it seems like Monk will return.