Malik Monk could start the season as the Charlotte Hornets’ backup point guard
There is some uncertainty surrounding the Charlotte Hornets’ backup point guard spot and Malik Monk may be the team’s only option.
With Michael Carter-Williams and Julyan Stone dealing with injuries, the Charlotte Hornets may have to look towards Malik Monk to backup Kemba Walker at the start of the regular season. Seeing that both backup point guards will potentially be out for the season opener, Malik Monk is most likely Steve Clifford’s next option to be the primary replacement.
MCW is still recovering from an offseason knee procedure. It is unclear if he will be ready for the start of the regular season because while he has been cleared for on-court drills, he will not be ready for full contact at the start of training camp. While his progress is promising, there’s a good chance that he could miss the opener in Detroit against the Pistons on October 18th.
As for Stone, he has a groin injury heading into training camp and preseason. Despite the injury concern, he did say that the groin problem is “nothing serious.” (Rick Bonnell) Charlotte signed Julyan to be their third-string point guard this offseason and he will be the emergency backup behind Kemba and Carter-Williams once healthy.
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If both backups are out, rookie Malik Monk will likely take over the lead guard spot off of the bench for the time being. Steve Clifford said that he would like to play the lottery pick at point guard and wanted to test him during summer league. Unfortunately, the former Kentucky Wildcat suffered an ankle injury during pre-draft workouts that kept him out for most of the offseason so we haven’t yet seen him play at all, let alone as the primary ball handler.
Although his conditioning is still a bit of a concern going into training camp, the consensus seems to be that Monk will be ready to begin the season.
Despite rehabbing all summer, Malik is adamant that he got better without playing basketball this summer and he is also confident in his point guard skills. The Hornets’ first-round pick pointed out that he had been a primary ball handler for most of his career all the way up until his time in college where he made the transition to shooting guard. (CharlotteObserver.com)
Next: What is Monk's true ceiling and pro comparison?
Although there are plenty of questions surrounding the team, the one thing that is clear is that the Hornets’ point guard depth will be tested early on. Hopefully, MCW, Stone and Monk are all healthy to start the year. After the injury problems Charlotte had last season, they can’t afford to go through that again this time around.