Malik Monk's potential future consumes Kings exit interviews

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You never know how exit interviews are going to go following a Sacramento Kings season. Oftentimes it’s an afterthought. Players who had checked out weeks earlier are dragged in front of a media group that they likely have grown tired of. It’s a lot of canned answers with players already packed and ready for an extended vacation. 

This year felt different. It wasn’t a wake or a funeral, but there was a certain somber mood to the room. Everyone was disappointed about the loss to the New Orleans Pelicans. No one was happy that the team was bounced before the playoffs started. But there is also the situation with Malik Monk and his impending free agency.

The Kings are a tight group. They were last season as well, and then management decided to run it back with many of the same players. That group is now faced with losing a member of the group who they not only all hold in high esteem as a man, but who also helps them win games. 

No one knows how this will all play out, but the Kings are fighting an uphill battle. We went through some of this conversation on Saturday, including a complicated breakdown of the finances. It doesn’t look good for the Kings, but a lot can change over the next couple of months leading to free agency.

“I can go somewhere else with a lot more money and be in a worse situation,” Monks told a packed house of media in Sacramento. “You never know. Like I said,  I’ve got a great agent, that’s going to do his job. I think my job is done. I think I did what I needed to do this year. It’s going to play out, I think it’s going to play out the right way.”

If all things were equal, Monk said he would “definitely” stay in Sacramento. But it’s very unlikely that all things will be equal. The Kings are limited in what they can offer the 26-year-old and he is not a player who has received his big NBA payday yet. 

“Emotions are everywhere, man,” Monk said. “I came here with one of my best friends [De’Aaron Fox]. Turned the organization around. Turned the city around. The city loves me, and I’ve said it before, I love the city. So yeah, man, the emotions are everywhere right now and that’s something I’ve got to deal with being an NBA player.”

It was a Monk lovefest for much of the day. With his impending free agency, almost every player was asked about his impact on the team. From his ability to lighten the room, to his energy on the court, Monk is beloved by his teammates. They also understand the decision he’s facing this offseason.

“He had a great year, Sixth Man of the Year, without a question,” Harrison Barnes said. “It’s a credit to him, what he’s been able to accomplish this year, what he’s given to our team. When he went down, that was obviously tough to replace, but I think he knows he’s got a home here. We all want him back. We understand the business of the game. We understand the nature of how that works.”

What is Monk looking for in his next opportunity, whether it’s in Sacramento or elsewhere? His wish list goes beyond finances, which might complicate things for him and the Kings.

“I definitely want to start,” Monk said. “I think I’ve been saying that I wanted to start, but if it’s not fit for me to start, I’ll come off the bench and be the best. I’ll just take my role and run with it.”

The Kings might have an opening at the shooting guard spot after a down season from Kevin Huerter and a young player in Keon Ellis just getting his feet wet in the league.

Monk and Fox have played together for major minutes in Sacramento, but whether they are a natural fit as a starting backcourt is tough to gauge. This isn’t the Kentucky Wildcats, where the two flourished as college teammates. They can certainly score and the chemistry is undeniable, but whether or not they could hold up on the defensive end is a major question.

This won’t be an easy decision for Monk. There is a good chance that one or more teams will offer up something much higher than the $17.4 million starting salary that Sacramento can offer. Money won’t be the only deciding factor, but it will matter. It should matter. 

The situation in Sacramento has given Monk the opportunity to shine and become the player that he is today. He is comfortable with the coaches and players and he has developed as a leader of the team. But there is a limited amount of time that every player has to make money in the league and you can’t begrudge him if he takes his talents elsewhere.

Coaching vacancy

The Brooklyn Nets officially stole away Kings associate head coach and lead assistant Jordi Fernandez to be their next head coach. Fernandez spent the last two seasons on Mike Brown’s staff after spending the previous six seasons on Michael Malone’s staff in Denver.

Fernandez is known for his defensive prowess and has a long standing relationship with Brown dating back more than a decade. At one point, Fernandez worked as a private basketball coach for one of Brown’s sons, before he was added to his Cleveland Cavaliers staff. 

There is no early word on how the Kings will fill the void left by Fernandez’s departure, but this should open up an opportunity for a very talented group of coaches awaiting a promotion, like Luke Loucks or Lindsey Harding. Loucks coached the summer league team last year at the California Classic and in Las Vegas. Harding is fresh off a G League Coach of the Year award after leading the Stockton Kings to a league best record.

Lucky

Throughout their history in Sacramento, the Kings have not been particularly lucky in the NBA’s Draft Lottery, but they have had plenty of luck with tie breaker coin flips. The NBA announced on Monday that the Kings will enter lottery night with the 13th best odds of landing the top spot in the 2024 NBA Draft. 

The Kings and Warriors tied at 46-36 on the season. According to the league, the tiebreaker process was overseen by Marc Dieli, a partner from the accounting firm of Ernst & Young, and determined the Kings the winner of the tiebreaker. 

If neither team moves up in the lottery, the Warriors will select No. 14 and the Kings will go at the pick ahead at No. 13 overall. Sacramento has a .8 percent chance of winning the lottery and the Warriors have a .7 percent chance. If Golden State fails to move into the top four, their pick goes to the Portland Trail Blazers as part of an earlier trade.

After missing the playoffs, the Kings have retained their first round pick, which was top 14 protected from the Kevin Huerter trade with Atlanta. They still owe Atlanta draft compensation moving forward. Their 2025 first round pick is top 12 protected from the trade and it becomes a top 10 protected pick in 2026 if it isn’t conveyed. If the Kings haven’t fulfilled the obligation by 2026, the first round pick dissolves into two seconds, one in 2026 and another in 2027.

The order is swapped in the second round with Golden State selecting No. 44 and the Kings choosing at No. 45. 

We’ll dive deep into draft coverage in the coming weeks leading up to the Draft Lottery on May 12 and the NBA Draft set for June 26 and 27. The 2024 draft is not considered a particularly strong group at the top, but there is plenty of talent dispersed throughout.