Over the years, lots of players have been in and out of the Charlotte Hornets organization. They’ve made good and bad draft decisions, free agency decisions, and trade decisions.
Everything had led up to this point, and the Hornets are currently one of the worst teams in the league. Part of that was due to injuries last year, but Charlotte certainly hasn’t done a great job of improving.
The worst thing a team can do is let talent walk for nothing, and the Hornets have done exactly that at certain points throughout the course of their current rebuild.
A recent move in the NBA shed light on a massive mistake the Hornets recently made. One that could have them in a much better position roster-wise right now.
Hornets roasted after Kings re-sign Malik Monk, as they let him walk in free agency for nothing in 2021
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Sacramento Kings are re-signing Malik Monk to a four-year, $78 million contract to bring him back to the team.
Monk finished second in Sixth Man of the Year voting this past year and has been a crucial part of the Kings’ recent success, helping bring them back to the playoffs for the first time in over a decade.
After the news was announced, Steve Reed of the Associated Press in Charlotte took to Twitter to comment on the move, roasting the Hornets’ decision to let Monk go in the first place.
And somehow wasn’t viewed as worthy of keeping by the Hornets. https://t.co/Gf1Xno58O6
— Steve Reed (@SteveReedAP) June 21, 2024
Charlotte let Monk walk away in free agency in 2021. He decided to sign a one-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. Monk played great in that one season and parlayed it into a deal with the Kings.
Monk just enjoyed the best season of his career with the Kings, and now, he’ll remain there, helping Sacramento compete for a playoff spot in the coming years.
But the most frustrating part of Monk’s departure from Charlotte and subsequent improvement is that he has been so impressive in a role that he could be playing on the Hornets.
Charlotte doesn’t have a go-to starting shooting guard right now. A lineup of LaMelo Ball, Monk, Brandon Miller, Grant Williams, and Mark Williams would have a ton of upside moving forward.
There were other reasons outside of just his on-court play why the Hornets didn’t bring him back, but with how well Monk has performed in the past three years, Charlotte’s decision looks rough.