We "Don't" Want the Monk: The Malik Monk Thread

[LofJ]

Any guesses on what Monk's next team will be?

I'm thinking the Knicks or the Thunder.

[euphorbus]

Nice showing by Monk tonight, making his first three shots. He ended up with 10 points on 3-5 shooting, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists in 23 minutes. It was strange seeing Monk as the last line of defense on the transition, and he did a great job, but the rest of the team was leaving shooters wide open at the three-point line. I also thought he would be credited with a steal, but I think that went to Bridges.

Bring in da noise, bring in da Monk!

Watch on YouTube

[euphorbus]

Perhaps Coach Borrego listens to Rick Bonnell:

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/charlotte-hornets/article248475495.html

[Braggins]

I didn't realize our defensive efficiency was top 10 and our offense was bottom 10. Yeah, I think its pretty clear Monk needs to be given a shot. He could potentially be just the weapon the 2nd unit needs.

I realized recently that Monk's game is actually fairly similar to Rozier's before he broke out.

[euphorbus]

Monk has been helping the rookies, especially Ball:

https://lonzowire.usatoday.com/2021/01/15/lamelo-ball-news-malik-monk-hornets-mentor-teammate/

[yasuhara2241]

Monk came into the league with such confidence. Now, after Clifford and Borrego you can just tell he just doesn't believe in his current direction. After he misses a shot, his initial reaction is to look to the bench to see if he's getting taken out.

Yesterdays game was a little different. I thought he started out great on offense which we needed but by the time he got back in the game late in the 3rd he was out of rhythm. BUT unlike times in the past, he remained fully engaged especially on defense. He hasn't played in a long time and seemed to fit in quite well which is encouraging.

The upside to Monk far exceeds that of the Martin twins. And for those who mention defense please also be aware our defense has sucked with the twins playing so what is the difference? Also, the twins overhelp on defense a lot leading to open threes nonstop.

[Braggins]

Monk came into the league with such confidence. Now, after Clifford and Borrego you can just tell he just doesn't believe in his current direction. After he misses a shot, his initial reaction is to look to the bench to see if he's getting taken out.

Yesterdays game was a little different. I thought he started out great on offense which we needed but by the time he got back in the game late in the 3rd he was out of rhythm. BUT unlike times in the past, he remained fully engaged especially on defense. He hasn't played in a long time and seemed to fit in quite well which is encouraging.

The upside to Monk far exceeds that of the Martin twins. And for those who mention defense please also be aware our defense has sucked with the twins playing so what is the difference? Also, the twins overhelp on defense a lot leading to open threes nonstop.

I don't know if Id go as far as to say that hes lost his confidence, but I did notice yesterday him looking to the bench a couple times expecting to get taken out after a minor mistake. At one point I think he started to walk back to the bench before realizing that the sub was coming in for someone else.

[yasuhara2241]

Monk came into the league with such confidence. Now, after Clifford and Borrego you can just tell he just doesn't believe in his current direction. After he misses a shot, his initial reaction is to look to the bench to see if he's getting taken out.

Yesterdays game was a little different. I thought he started out great on offense which we needed but by the time he got back in the game late in the 3rd he was out of rhythm. BUT unlike times in the past, he remained fully engaged especially on defense. He hasn't played in a long time and seemed to fit in quite well which is encouraging.

The upside to Monk far exceeds that of the Martin twins. And for those who mention defense please also be aware our defense has sucked with the twins playing so what is the difference? Also, the twins overhelp on defense a lot leading to open threes nonstop.

I don't know if Id go as far as to say that hes lost his confidence, but I did notice yesterday him looking to the bench a couple times expecting to get taken out after a minor mistake. At one point I think he started to walk back to the bench before realizing that the sub was coming in for someone else.

Now, I don't believe he lost confidence in himself just his direction with the team. I think if he starts getting steady minutes he will also play better but unfortunately he is out after this season if not traded before then and that sucks because I still hold out hope he can be a really good player.

[Rays Pompadour]

Malik Monk's the Aqib Talib of the NBA. His plight is entirely self-inflicted.

[Rich4114]

It was going to be an uphill battle for Monk the moment Clifford declared he wanted Mitchell and we took Monk instead. Clifford was right on that one obviously but to put Monk out there out of position and then bench him because of defense while guys like Batum and MKG played meaningful minutes was just plain dumb. He’s had a much better shot under JB but we have really never played him to his strength until last season. GM said he’s maybe the most talented player on the roster. So can we please stop playing the Martin Twins who yes - play with great effort and had a nice run for a month last season - over “maybe our most talented” player?

[JMAC3]

Malik at 5.3 Million is probably the easiest guy on our team to trade.

Think him playing right now, is an attempt to build up his trade value and flip him at the deadline.

Just a reminder that we have 74 Million active cap next summer, add in 9 million in dead money that puts us at 83 million in salary on the books. Projected cap is 112 Million so we have about 30 Million in cap space.

Cap Holds
Zeller 23 Million
Monk 13.3 Million
Biz 6.6 Million
Graham 2 Million

Just based on Cap Holds alone, bringing back Graham over Monk makes a ton of sense. Basically we can spend 27 Million in new money and still pay Graham whatever salary he garners.

Monk only allows us to pay 16 million in new money and still pay him whatever salary he garners. Or if he gets something smaller than 13 Million per year it would open up a bit more, but my point is he is not nearly as valuable.

Zeller and Biz will be renounced and maybe brought back on smaller deals.

Essentially, there is a really good chance we don't resign Malik in the offseason, so we should get value for him now.

[Hornet Mania]

Essentially, there is a really good chance we don't resign Malik in the offseason, so we should get value for him now.

100% agree on this. No hard feelings towards Monk, he got a bit of a raw deal before he made some boneheaded mistakes off the court, but it's clear that his next chapter is elsewhere. We need to try and extract some value out of a failed lotto pick for once in our existence.

[Chapelchilla]

I agree with y’all, he doesn’t fit here and needs a fresh start. We need to get something out of him so a small trade would be good. A back up tall defensive SG or a younger, running big would be nice. Even a 2022 potentially high second rounder may be worth it.

[JMAC3]

Projected cap is 112 Million so we have about 30 Million in cap space.

Just to put this into perspective as well, if we had not signed Hayward this summer, we would be rolling into this offseason with close to 70 Million in cap space.

Best Unrestricted Free Agents (age they will be when free agency starts)
Demar Derozan (32)
Kyle Lowry (35)
Mike Conley (33)
Andre Drummond (28)
Victor Oladipo (29)
Otto Porter Jr (28)
Jrue Holiday (31)
Lamarcus Aldridge(36)
Goran Dragic (35)
Tim Hardaway Jr (29)
Dennis Schroeder (28)
Evan Fournier (28)
Kelly Oubre (25)

Hayward turns 31 in March.

I would of been super super nervous giving our Front Office 70 Million to spend all at once when this is the best players available. Especially when you are competing vs 15 other teams with MAX salary spots, we always have to pay a premium to land guys and mixed with competitive offers it could of been really really bad.

[Hornet Mania]

I agree with y’all, he doesn’t fit here and needs a fresh start. We need to get something out of him so a small trade would be good. A back up tall defensive SG or a younger, running big would be nice. Even a 2022 potentially high second rounder may be worth it.

A high 2nd is basically best-case at least imo. We gave ours away for Willy Hernangomez so recouping that for the price of a player who doesn't seem to be in JB's plans would be good asset management. Of course I'd love to get a 1st or a useful vet but I just don't believe Monk can command that price right now.

[SWedd523]

Projected cap is 112 Million so we have about 30 Million in cap space.

Just to put this into perspective as well, if we had not signed Hayward this summer, we would be rolling into this offseason with close to 70 Million in cap space.

Best Unrestricted Free Agents (age they will be when free agency starts)
Demar Derozan (32)
Kyle Lowry (35)
Mike Conley (33)
Andre Drummond (28)
Victor Oladipo (29)
Otto Porter Jr (28)
Jrue Holiday (31)
Lamarcus Aldridge(36)
Goran Dragic (35)
Tim Hardaway Jr (29)
Dennis Schroeder (28)
Evan Fournier (28)
Kelly Oubre (25)

Hayward turns 31 in March.

I would of been super super nervous giving our Front Office 70 Million to spend all at once when this is the best players available. Especially when you are competing vs 15 other teams with MAX salary spots, we always have to pay a premium to land guys and mixed with competitive offers it could of been really really bad.

Is there some new CBA rule where you're required to spend every dollar you have every off-season?

Didn't we just see how valuable having cap space can be when Cleveland got Allen and Prince essentially for nothing?

[BigSlam]

Didn't we just see how valuable having cap space can be when Cleveland got Allen and Prince essentially for nothing?

It is shocking to me, SHOCKING, how little some posters seem to value fluid, open cap space.

It was never more evident than during the recent preseason.

[SWedd523]

Didn't we just see how valuable having cap space can be when Cleveland got Allen and Prince essentially for nothing?

It is shocking to me, SHOCKING, how little some posters seem to value fluid, open cap space.

It was never more evident than during the recent preseason.

Hell, not having enough cap space is exactly what caused the Hornets to make the biggest waive/stretch ever

[JMAC3]

Didn't we just see how valuable having cap space can be when Cleveland got Allen and Prince essentially for nothing?

It is shocking to me, SHOCKING, how little some posters seem to value fluid, open cap space.

It was never more evident than during the recent preseason.

What made it so evident? I did not see any teams really cash in because they had cap space.

[JDR720]

Didn't we just see how valuable having cap space can be when Cleveland got Allen and Prince essentially for nothing?

It is shocking to me, SHOCKING, how little some posters seem to value fluid, open cap space.

It was never more evident than during the recent preseason.

What made it so evident? I did not see any teams really cash in because they had cap space.

Cashing in doesn't mean you have to use that cap space for a player, you can use it for other reasons too...like not having to stretch bad contracts to get space to sign someone.

Space for facilitating trades and that sort of thing.