Charlotte Hornets: What is Malik Monk’s true ceiling/pro comparison?

Malik Monk is one of the most explosive offensive players in the 2017 Draft class but what will his ceiling be for the Charlotte Hornets?

Coming out of high school, Malik Monk was one of, if not, the best prospects in the nation. While most of the hype continued into his college career at Kentucky, it halted a bit once the 2017 NBA Draft came around and he fell outside of the top-10. Luckily for the Charlotte Hornets, they were able to get a talented player with one of the highest ceilings in the draft.

But what is Monk’s true potential? And who’s the best professional comparison for the shooting guard? Since Malik has been out all offseason and missed the summer league with an ankle injury, it’s tough to gauge but I’ll give it my best shot.

At only 19-year old, he has plenty of time to develop and grow. His potential pretty much goes hand in hand with his pro comparison. While his NBA comparison doesn’t mean that’s who he’ll end up being in the league but it gives us a good idea who’ll he’ll probably play like.

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Zach LaVine

The Chicago Bulls guard seems to be a popular comparison for Malik. Two Bleacher Report articles, one by Dan Favale and one by Jonathan Wasserman, both compare the long-term potential of Monk to LaVine. It makes sense since both are slightly undersized two guards with elite athleticism. Here’s a look at Malik’s measurements and Zach’s measurements before the draft.

The main difference between the two is Monk’s outside shooting ability. Although, LaVine has worked hard on his shot and is now shooting just below 40% over the past two seasons. Zach averaged 18.9 points per game during his third-year in the NBA. If Malik could reach that mark, it would be a great outcome for the Hornets.

Eric Gordon

NBADraft.net compares Monk to Gordon and a Bleacher Report article by Kristopher Knox says that “It wouldn’t at all be a surprise to see Monk with Gordon-like production—16.2 points, 2.5 assists in the 2016-17 season—as a rookie.” He also added, “Don’t be shocked if Monk ends up being one of the most prolific rookie scorers in the Association next season.”

Coming out of college, Eric was one of the best shooting guard prospects in the 2008 Draft. At his peak, he was a 20+ point per game scorer for the Los Angeles Clippers. Although injuries derailed his career a bit, Gordon is now one of the best sixth men in the league and even won the Sixth Man Award last season. For a team like Charlotte that desperately needs a scorer to help take the load off of Kemba Walker and bolster the bench at the same time, an Eric Gordon type player would be a godsend.

This is not only a reasonable comparison stat-wise for Monk but also in terms of athletic ability. While it may not always seem like it now, coming out of Indiana, Eric had a 40 inch vertical. His elite shooting ability also matches that of Malik’s.

Lou Williams

NBADraft.net also compared the Kentucky Wildcats’ product to Lou. Comparisons to undersized shooting guards and sixth man-type sharpshooters seem to be the trend here. For 10 straight seasons, Williams has been a double-digit scorer and has even won a Sixth Man of the Year Award during that time. Charlotte will be hoping that Malik can surpass the levels that Lou has reached in his career but as a floor/base, this is a good place to start.

None of the three players named are elite defensively. Actually, they are probably on the lower end of the defensive spectrum in the NBA. Which may hold true for Monk as he’s never been a lockdown defender. Although, under Steve Clifford, he will be forced to defend at a high level so that could bode well for him in that area further down the road.

True Ceiling

Before the 2017 NBA Draft, a Redditor put together a system to generate comparable stats for each top prospect. For Malik Monk had Unique p40 returns comparable to Damian Lillard (x3), J.J. Redick (x4) and Eric Gordon (x1). He also had returns of Kyrie Irving, Kemba Walker, Isaiah Thomas, Richard (Rip) Hamilton, Klay Thompson (x2) and C.J. McCollum (x2).

During his review of Monk, the Redditor added “Guys like OJ Mayo and Nik Stauskas were returned, showing Monk’s floor. However, if Monk shows that he was as underutilized as Booker was at Kentucky, then the sky’s the limit for his scoring potential.”

While most think Malik will just be a high-level shooter at the pro-level, there’s a good chance that he could actually turn into an elite scorer. While his defense may never be on the levels of Kawhi Leonard, he could one day be a dominant one-way player who can either carry or help carry a team’s offense.

While there are plenty of NBA players with similar skillsets, athletic ability and measurements to Monk, it’s hard to pinpoint just one that matches his actual style of play. His defense will obviously be the big question mark surrounding Malik but during his rookie season, being an explosive scorer should be enough. It will be interesting to see what type of player he develops into later in his career.

Next: Hornets sign undrafted guard Terry Henderson

After all, “the ceiling is the roof.”