Just a few months ago during the NBA offseason, I wrote a piece about why the Charlotte Hornets should allow shooting guard Malik Monk, who they drafted with the 11th overall in 2017, walk in free agency.
The Hornets did just that and Monk signed a surprising veteran minimum deal with the Los Angeles Lakers to play alongside LeBron James.
Over a quarter of the way into the NBA season, Monk has outperformed his contract greatly, working his way into a starting spot on the Lakers and becoming one of the team’s most reliable scorers on a roster that includes James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook.
At just 23-years-old, Monk is by far one of the youngest players on the Lakers and still has plenty of untapped potential that wasn’t shown in Charlotte.
Even as he excels alongside one of the greatest NBA players ever in James, I still feel comfortable in saying that the Hornets still made the right decision.
Monk has scored 20+ points in four of Los Angeles’ last six games, is shooting a career-best from the field and is looking much more confident than in the past while on the court.
On Wednesday, James took a subtle shot at the Hornets, saying he wanted the Lakers to pursue Monk last season when he saw how they weren’t utilizing him properly. Instead, they got him in free agency for a low price.
https://twitter.com/DKM_Sports/status/1478771834665541634
Meanwhile, Charlotte signed guard/forward Kelly Oubre Jr. and drafted guard James Bouknight to help replace Monk and point guard Devonte’ Graham.
Oubre has been one of the team’s most clutch players despite struggling with consistency, and Bouknight has tons of promise.
The Hornets have been exciting this season but have been pretty average when it comes to winning. However, James’ comments shouldn’t bother Charlotte fans by any means.
Monk might be playing really well in his past few games, but he was never a fit with the Hornets. Any time he’d get streaky, he would go into a slump.
If Monk was on Charlotte’s roster right now, would they be any better? My answer would be no. The biggest problem for the Hornets right now is defense, and Monk definitely wouldn’t improve that.
Monk unfortunately was never meant to be a Hornet. The Lakers got a great bargain for him and fans should be happy to see him finally succeed.