Following a breakout 2021-22 campaign with the Los Angeles Lakers, unrestricted free agent guard Malik Monk is looking to secure a long-term home with his next contract this offseason.
The No. 11 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, Monk remembers the humbling disappointment of last offseason, when only the Lakers and Dallas Mavericks were interested in signing him and he agreed to a one-year veteran minimum contract ($1.8 million) with the Lakers — less money than he’d made in any of his first four seasons with the Charlotte Hornets.
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But he believes he’s entering this summer with more leverage and more of a market.
“I had another career year, with all my numbers and things like that,” Monk told The Athletic. “I can’t be down on myself.”
Monk, 24, is returning to northwest Arkansas at the end of June to spend at least a month with his mom, Jackie, and his brother and agent, Marcus. He’s going to ring in the June 30 start of free agency — the biggest decision of his NBA career thus far — from his mother’s home. He’ll fly out for meetings, if necessary, but the goal is to clear his head and enter the process with an open mind surrounded by the people he began his basketball journey with. Jackie will have considerable input on his future.
“We lean on our mother in times like this,” Marcus said. “She has a different perspective. She thinks more about work-life balance. So (her opinion) is very important also.”
Last season, Monk averaged career highs in points (13.8), rebounds (3.4), assists (2.9), steals (0.8), true shooting percentage (59.7 percent), 2-point percentage (56.8 percent), minutes (28.1), games played (76) and games started (37), among several other metrics.
He was one of the lone bright spots in the Lakers’ otherwise dismal season, in which they finished 11th in the West at 33-49 and missed the Play-In Tournament despite beginning the season as the Western Conference favorites.
Monk hopes his performance last season showed the Lakers and the rest of the league that his contributions extend beyond just scoring and shooting, two strengths he’s been known for since he was a five-star phenom in high school. He improved as a passer, rebounder and defender and was one of the few role players who seamlessly fit with LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook, regardless of the lineup.
“That I’m a basketball player, man,” Monk said of what he hopes he proved this season. “That I’m an all-around basketball player that cannot only shoot, cannot only just score the ball, but that I can play-make for others. I can not have the ball, I can have the ball, and I can make plays doing both. Not just scoring.”
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Monk has repeatedly stated his preference to stay with the Lakers, but there is one notable hurdle: The most the team can offer him, because of the contract he signed last summer, is its taxpayer midlevel exception, which is worth approximately $6.3 million annually.
That’s also the Lakers’ only tool to improve in free agency, and they may have greater needs, particularly a 3-and-D wing with size who can complement James and Davis in the frontcourt, according to league sources.
Monk would likely have to take a discount, as he could command a multi-year deal worth $10 million to $12 million annually on the open market, according to multiple league sources. And that projection could be on the low end. The Athletic’s John Hollinger’s BORD$ valuation of Monk has him worth $16,511,722 for the 2022-23 season (fourth among free-agent shooting guards and 14th overall).
As Monk weighs the most significant factors of his free agency, money is obviously important, but it’s not the most important one. Role and minutes are more notable considerations.
“Money is always a part, man, but I don’t think it’s the biggest priority in my free agency this year,” Monk said. “It’s me feeling like I’m having a home and I can go out there and do the same things I did this year.”
Monk said he’d consider accepting less money than his market price to stay with the Lakers for the taxpayer midlevel exception.
“They might not be able to pay me as much as I want,” he said. “But I could be here and be way more comfortable as a Laker than going to any other team (that would pay) me $5 million more. So it’s just me trying to figure out what team would really want me.”
The Lakers — specifically, vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka, former head coach Frank Vogel and, most important, James — were the first team to call Monk last summer. That matters to him. He’s grateful for the opportunity Los Angeles provided him when most of the league had given up on him.
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“He loved it here,” Marcus said. “He wants to be a Laker. But you can’t have conversations with the Lakers at this point in time because he’s unrestricted. So once those conversations start happening, hopefully, they see it the same. … We’re very loyal people. We’re very thankful for the opportunity that this organization gave him. And we don’t take those things lightly.”
Monk said in his Lakers exit interview on April 11 that he didn’t have a preference on whether he started or came off the bench — a sentiment he shared multiple times during the season. Entering next season, he prefers to start, but he views playing time — overall minutes and closing games — as more of a determinant.
“Everyone wants to be a starter,” Marcus said. “Look, with us, it’s more minutes and when you’re in the game. Like, yes, (he) would love to be a starter. Gotta earn those. Those spots are limited in this league. We understand no one’s just going to give you a starter’s role. And that’s fine. He understands that. He’s prepared to do whatever he needs to do to earn that right. Another thing is just minutes, like, when you’re in a game. He wants to close games.”
Monk will also factor in potential team success and the ability to play in the postseason as he makes his decision. He has never made the playoffs and is eager to compete on the game’s brightest stage and to be part of a deep run.
“Malik is the ultimate competitor,” Marcus said. “He hates to lose. So he struggled with that the whole season. He wants to win.”
In Monk’s eyes, the right situation — the right role, the right coach, the right team — will ultimately lead to longevity and more money later in his career. Monk and his brother have long had a detailed vision for the direction of Monk’s basketball career, and that includes Monk playing in the NBA for at least a decade longer.
“The ultimate goal is longevity,” Marcus said. “That’s the ultimate goal, for him to play for 10 more years. So whatever we need to do to get to that, that’s what he’s focused on.”
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Monk is clear that he plans on evaluating all of his options — including the possibility of playing for another team — before making the best long-term decision for his career.
“There’s always a time where the money is gonna be higher and the money’s gonna be lower,” Monk said. “It’s just the right situations. And you gotta put yourself in the right situation to be able to succeed and get those bigger contracts.”
He added: “You never know what happens. Some other team could come in and hopefully tell me the same thing, and maybe I get a little bit more minutes on that team. So it’s just actually me being presented and being able to go out there and do what I do is a priority.
“That’s the biggest priority: A team that’s just going to let me come in and be myself.”
So far this offseason, Monk has been training at the Lakers practice facility, the UCLA Health Training Center, three times per day (twice on the hardwood and once in the weight room) every Monday through Thursday, alongside teammates Austin Reaves, Stanley Johnson, Talen Horton-Tucker, Wenyen Gabriel and Mason Jones.
He’s focusing on gaining muscle and getting stronger to become a better defender and a better finisher through contact. He also wants to improve his ballhandling and decision-making so he can play more point guard next season.
For the first time in his career, Monk vigorously studied the NBA playoffs. He and Marcus chatted every night after games, discussing how Monk would attack specific situations, what he needs to work on this offseason and how to prepare for the detailed nature of postseason basketball.
Marcus noticed notable growth in Malik’s approach to studying the game during the season, and that’s carried over into the offseason.
“He’s never done that before,” Marcus said.
What’s Monk’s biggest postseason observation from his film work and conversations with his brother?
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“We should’ve been (in) it,” Monk said. “The Lakers should have been (in) it. It doesn’t feel right without ‘Bron in it.”
Anything else?
“I’m sitting there and watching, and I know I could be out there doing the same things that some of those guys are doing, man,” Monk said. “It’s super motivational.”
Come June 30, Monk will have the opportunity to find what he’s been seeking.
(Photo: Mark J. Rebilas / USA Today)
