Malik Monk has been thrust into the spotlight amid the ongoing Jonathan Kuminga dilemma.
Prior to his contract stalemate being resolved, Jonathan Kuminga’s situation with the Golden State Warriors saw him heavily linked to the Sacramento Kings.
Kuminga was reportedly encouraged by the Kings’ trade interest in him, even though a deal was not reached.
One sticking point was Malik Monk. He was the Kings player being offered in trade talks, but the Warriors’ interest in Monk was not strong enough to tempt them into a deal.
Malik Monk quizzed on his future
Malik Monk has now returned to training camp with the Sacramento Kings and was asked about his future during media day.
Monk had a straightforward response to questions, showing that all the speculation is not going to concern him.
He said: “If my agent don’t call me or tell me anything, it’s not going to happen.”
“I just want to play basketball, I want to play winning basketball… everybody want to play 50 minutes and average 30 right, but I’m ready for whatever.”
Speaking about his mindset, and the goals of the team, Monk gave a wholly positive response.
“Amazing. Ready to be back, ready to perform in front of the fans.
“They want us to fight, come out fighting come out swinging, if we lose swinging, we can live with that.”
He also revealed why he has an extra motivation to stay in Sacramento, adding: “I bought a house. I bought some acres. This is home. I love it here.”
Kings fans want Malik Monk to stay
There was a strong response from Sacramento Kings fans after hearing Malik Monk’s comments on his future.
They want to forget the Jonathan Kuminga mess too, preferring that Monk stays put.
“Don’t trade this dude!” one wrote, with another adding: “Can’t believe some fans wanna trade him for “Kuminga””
“We love Monk. He brings so much value to our team. I hope we hang on to him,” wrote a third.
“Let the guy stay!”, wrote another, with another post on X reading: “Needs to stay a King”.
Another posted: “Can’t believe Kings tried trading him. How bout they use their brains and put him in a spot where he can thrive.”
The deadline is approaching for the Warriors to resolve the Kuminga dilemma, and one way or another it looks like he will be staying put.
The knock-on impact is that Monk will stay where he is too, where he appears to be genuinely happy.
