Malik Monk to the Los Angeles Lakers is steal of NBA free agency

(Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Malik Monk is betting on himself.

The 23-year old former Kentucky Wildcat has only been in the league for four seasons, but he’s yet to live up to the expectations that came with being picked No. 11 in the 2017 NBA Draft. The Charlotte Hornets elected to pull the plug on its experiment with Monk, refusing to extend a qualifying offer which made him an unrestricted free agent. Granted, his first two seasons in the NBA were a serious struggle, but he sustained lengthy stretches of high-level play in years three and four. Particularly in 2020-21, when Monk was playing the best basketball of his life from January to March.

Off the court issues for Monk left a bad taste in the mouths of Charlotte’s front office and some internal concerns prior to the start of the season (frustration over a lack of playing time) made it feel like a breakup was inevitable. That being said, it was still a bit of a surprise to see the Hornets let Monk walk for nothing. Still incredibly young and coming off a season in which he shot 40.1 percent from distance on 5.0 attempts per outing, it’s not like Monk is on the verge of being punted out of the league.

Someone was going to take a chance on him.

It was an even bigger surprise, though, when ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday that the Los Angeles Lakers signed Monk to a contract. L.A. has done everything but add youthful scorers thus far this offseason, electing to poach veterans on short-term deals looking to make a run for an NBA Finals ring. But the BIGGEST surprise of this all came when Keith Smith of Spotrac reported that the Lakers signed Monk for a minimum contract.

A 23-year-old coming off a career-high in scoring and three-point shooting signed for the league minimum… Going off of statistics from the 2020-21 season, the minimum for a player who has spent four years in the NBA is around $1.7 million. In my BBNBA free agency primer from Monday, I wrote that Monk would be worth around the $8-10 million per year range. I still believe he could have found a team willing to pay him that much, but Monk went for the best opportunity.

Here’s who Monk will team up with on the Lakers next season, including all of the franchise’s pending free agent moves:

LeBron James
Anthony Davis
Russell Westbrook
Carmelo Anthony
Dwight Howard
Marc Gasol
Kendrick Nunn
Talen Horton-Tucker
Trevor Ariza
Kent Bazemore
Wayne Ellington

RESERVES

Austin Reaves
Joel Ayayi
Alfonzo McKinnie

Go ahead and pencil Monk in for at least 20 minutes per night. The Lakers have gone OLD and decided to build around its core of James, Davis, and Westbrook with a slew of veterans 30 years of age or older. Monk will see the floor as injuries and fatigue set in throughout the season.

While I don’t believe the Lakers is the best team for him to put his talents on full display, I do believe it’s the best spot for him to showcase them without getting over-exposed. This season will be all about proving the shooting in 2020-21 wasn’t a fluke and that he’s worth a long-term deal. Just playing alongside LeBron will earn him a couple of open shots every game. Monk was coming into his own as a playmaker last season, too, and he’ll have plenty of eyes scouting him out in L.A.

This could very well be the steal of the offseason for any NBA team. Monk isn’t the flashiest name or most-proven prospect, but signing a good 23-year old for under $2 million who can shoot 40 percent from deep never happens. If he flounders, it will cost the Lakers nothing. If Monk continues to develop en route to another Laker’s NBA title, the front office will look like geniuses.