Why didn't we kick the tires on Malik Monk?

[madmaxmedia]

This is sort of a 20/20 hindsight post, but I'm really surprised we didn't at least kick the tires on Monk. Apparently only the Lakers showed interest, and signed him to a 1 year minimum deal (good for them!)

Forgetting about the nice season he's having now with the Lakers, even last offseason he was a young PG with some athleticism that has not been a total washout in the NBA, available in free agency. Sure you can say, 'hey no one else wanted him either!' But 'youth', 'athleticism', 'point guard', and 'cheap' were all attributes we were looking for, and he fit the bill much better than Justice Winslow, Rajon Rondo, Ricky Rubio, or the numerous old guys we have tried or talked about trying on this board. We all knew we actually needed more young legs, except we're both asset and cap strapped.

It's not a big thing because yeah hindsight is 20/20, and who knows maybe he would have chosen the Lakers anyway. But on the surface this would have seemed to check all the boxes for us as a low risk pick up.

I guess roster construction would have been the main thing, since we picked up Bledsoe? But again, minimum contract...

[esqtvd]

Monk is not a PG--a career 1.8 apg/1.2 TOs. 6'3" SG with a bad D-Rating.

https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/m/monkma01.html


There was no reason to think he was an improvement on Mann or even Coffey and we just drafted 3 more young guards in Keon, Preston, and Boston--plus we have Scrubb.

You ask, we answer.

[LamarWho]

Word on the street is he was willing to take less $ to sign with the Lakers, because of playing with Lebron and the reputation of the purple and gold.

He's not a PG, but the guy can flat out score. He's been shooting 40% from 3s the last 2 seasons. He's someone you can throw the ball to with 5 seconds left on the clock, and he can make something happen.

Given how much we have struggled scoring this season, I would much rather see a guy like Monk than Bledsoe.

[og15]

Clippers had and have a lot of guards on the roster, so the question would also be whether he wanted to sign with the team.

Usually players like him trying to increase their stock will go to a team where they believe they can compete and show teams they can contribute to winning or a team where they have a clear defined big role and can put up numbers.

The Clippers would present neither of those opportunities for him, so that would be my assumption as to why.

[madmaxmedia]

Ah I see, I thought he was a PG (but Fox was the PG at Kentucky IIRC...)

Another SG wouldn't have made sense, even young and cheap.