Charlotte Hornets: What each young player needs to work on this summer

Malik Monk: Defense, Consistency

Malik Monk is entering a critical third season in which many fans are hoping he can finally breakout and show why he was the 11th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. He’ll certainly have the playing time and opportunity to do so, but he must keep working defensively.

Since entering the league, Monk has struggled with his perimeter defense. He did have some moments last season where I thought he looked better, but overall, it’s been a challenge for him. Some of his struggles may relate to his size (6’3″ with a 6’4″ wingspan), but overall effort and wanting to shut down the opposing player are two big things with defending. Monk will need to be more locked in.

Monk ranked 104th out of 111 among shooting guards in the NBA in DRPM during the 2018-19 season, which is obviously… not good.

Another problem Monk has dealt with is consistency. It’s something that a lot of young guards deal with early in their careers, especially those who are trigger happy, like Monk. Being trigger happy isn’t a bad thing — it shows that he’ll keep shooting no matter what, and that’s the right mentality to have.

Coming out of Kentucky, I loved Monk’s upside as a scorer. I still think he can be an elite scorer at the NBA level. If he improves in these two areas, that would be huge for his development, and it could mean he is in for a big third year.