Malik Monk‘s 36-point outburst on Monday pumps up his future value, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes. The Hornets guard has knocked down 15-of-26 from 3-point range since he was reinserted into the rotation four games ago and has also served as a playmaker.
“He makes us so much more dynamic. He’s kicking that ball out and making plays for others,” Hornets coach James Borrego said. Charlotte can make Monk a restricted free agent this summer by extending him a $7MM+ qualifying offer. Otherwise, he’ll head into unrestricted free agency.
We have more from the Eastern Conference:
- Two prominent young players, forward Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina, have fallen out of the Knicks’ rotation but it doesn’t appear they’ll join the G League’s Westchester Knicks in Orlando, according to Ian Begley of SNY. Dennis Smith Jr. agreed last week to join the G League club in order to get some playing time. Knox, who is currently stuck behind Reggie Bullock and Alec Burks, could have more trade value than Smith and Ntilikina because he’s under contract next season, Begley adds.
- Jarrett Allen‘s big performance on Monday provided a glimpse of the future for the Cavaliers, Chris Fedor of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes. With Andre Drummond, who is headed to unrestricted free agency, sidelined by a back injury, Allen erupted for 23 points, 18 rebounds and five blocks. He’s developing chemistry with young guards Collin Sexton and Darius Garland and the front office views him as the better long-term fit at center, Fedor adds. Allen will be a restricted free agent this offseason.
- Following a disappointing season, Bulls forward Lauri Markkanen is making a case to be in the team’s long-term plans, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. Markkanen, who will be a restricted free agent this summer, is averaging 22.1 PPG and 6.1 RPG while shooting 52.4% from the field over the last eight games.
Monk for Bamba
No thanks… Hornets don’t want that
Mitch Kupchak? Or is this the GOAT his airness in the comment section of HOOPS RUMORS?
@knickerbocker Al. Do you like Knox? I’ve always disliked his game even coming out of college.
I was hoping Knox would be given a better chance with Thibs. Iggy doesn’t get any playing time either.
I think I might dislike Knox purely because of his face…
You can put face tattoos on Knox he would look cool
I like round face Eric Gordon
wow sillivan guess ur not a bot like the others say
Knox reminds me of Charlie Villanueva w/ hair
I pity his face
I hate him bc he’s shot 38% from the floor 3 years straight
Always thought he was kind of a project. At UK he had some big games.Then would have no show gms. Came in as youngest or one of in the draft. Always been young and growing into body. So I’ve been patient with him. He’s got talent but when he plays bad. He tends to take the night off. Got potential to be at least a rotation player. If he ever plays consistent D. I looked at it as Thibs can break him out. Still hoping lol.
I’ve officially thrown in the towel on him
What’s interesting with both him and DSJ is they’ve both actually regressed from their rookie year
They’ve gone from volume but inefficient to end of rotation yet still totally inefficient
Never liked him, either. He doesn’t do anything particularly well and is super inefficient.
It’s almost like he’s a young player or something
@jason, yeah because young players are never good. We all know that.
Lauri or Wendell? Who do you keep. Factor in $.
Markky Markkanen fo sho
Today… Lauri.
Yeah Lauri
Allen is the future center of the Cavs!
I wish he could have stayed on BK, I dont like DJ. Plus someone would have mash upped harden and Allen’s faces and that beard with that fro would have been bigfoot levels of hairy funny
He will be an all star one day. Great pickup.
I hope the Cavs make fake afros with the headband for fans to wear at games like they did with Varejao’s hair. Unless that like cultural appropriation or something…but still. Already a fan favorite.
Monk, Nttilikina, Smith all from same draft. The chaos in NYC has worked against our players. Monk has been inconsistent and they’ve played him inconsistent. Always thought of him as third guard. He might be starting to find himself. Right when a new contract is up. NY is not for everyone, Smith n Nttilikina will do well away from NY.
Knox we still have to develop and give him a real shot. He was still physically growing past two yrs. He’s kind of introverted. It’s hard to get a read on him. He’s not consistent and he still gets lost on D. You’d think that’s something Thibs can help with. If he’s not scoring he seems to get lost.
Smith and Frank will be middling players at best even in a different location. DSJ was a turnover machine who shot poorly while shooting a ton in Dallas. Couldn’t rebound, couldn’t play defense, couldn’t pass. Not surprising that he remained that way (though worse) in NY.
Frank has had a million opportunities and played his way out of all of them. He’s still very young, but I don’t see him putting it together.
Wish them both the best of luck, but this idea that they have unlocked potential is a fantasy.
But you do get 90% of rookies. Their biggest adjustment is on the defensive side. Some take yrs to get it. As far as Knicks you throw in chaos of team. Then the pressure of big city. It’s not black n white lol. Stats don’t tell whole story. It’s tougher today cause they come in as 19 yr olds. If you look at their rookie stats they are solid. That’s not fantasy. It’s why I say they will do better in another city. I could never give up on a 22 yr old. But teaching and development is something all teams need to take a long look at. Look at a guy like Woods 24 yrs old.
Agree that stats don’t tell the whole story and agree that these guys are young
But we have to look at Quickley and Robinson and Barrett – no they havent been great but theyve been ok, theyve shown improvement
Sh*t even Alonzo Trier and Noah Vonleh were young guys who showed some potential on our squad a year or 2 ago
Frank and Dennis and Kevin have just been bad. And to my point above they’ve actually been getting worse not better
Maybe a change of scenery will do it for them. They’re young. But you know what? There are a helluva lot of talented young players in the league.
Even guys like Okafor and Jabari who were better players and higher picks have been more or less played out the league. It happens quick
I think DSJ has the right idea – go to the G and show *something* just so u have an offer sheet when your rookie deal is up
u mean jahil okafor? lmao hes a top three pick and somehow hes gotten himself at the end of the rotation behnd plumlee and stewart. a big man who cant do pick and rolls and has no defense…only thing he can do is post-ups. oh yea jabari parker hes like one of the most forgotten players lol been injured since the day he got traded to the kings.
I agree Smith n Frank have been here. So they have to accept the consequences. As a Knick fan I’m hopingThibs can bring their value up. So we don’t give them away. Knox he deserves at least a yr under Thibs. And yes we still have to develop Mitch, RJ, Quickly, Toppin. I mean look at Randle at 26 yrs old. People get caught up cause Knicks are winning. And forget this yr is about fixing and finding core Knicks. It’s still a rebuild. We got trades, FA, and the draft coming. That can move this franchise forward in a major way. We have to remember that and stay the course. Next yr we can concentrate on the playoffs. We will be so much better and deeper.
DSJ at least in theory has elite athleticism – he just can’t get out of his own way
If he could just learn how to score even semi-efficiently he could become a 6th man in the mold of Lou Will/D Schroeder/ J Crawford
He has the highest ceiling of the 3 NY busts and frankly the only I can see turning it around somewhere else
Tried to tell all the Lauri Markkanen haters out there that Boylen was misusing him terribly, and that he would again break out this season…
Should have been the same for WCJ, but unfortunately he got but with the injury bug again…
His FG and 3P% are well above his career avg so, grain of salt.
Bulls and Knicks both need a traditional PG. To me Bulls have more young talent. A traditional PG runs the offense first and makes the gm easier. Players don’t have to get their shots. PG would facilitate that and get them good looks. A young team needs leadership and direction. That grows confidence and familiarity. A traditional PG can do that. You remember CP3 in LA. What did he do for Griffin and Jordan. You might not find a CP3. But just imagine Bulls or Knicks with Halliburton running point. A real PG is more valuable with a young team.
You see Payton plays well and we have a chance to win. PG PG PG it’s all about a real PG, consistent PG play. I know it’s only rumors. But I would much much much more, rather have LaVine than Oladipo. He’s younger and fits our young guys.
Good to come back and win. Thibs still not playing Toppin. Makes me wonder if they are showcasing Randle. Hmmmm
The Knicks should just sit tight. The Knicks have a nice nucleus of young players, tons of open cap space after this season and some extra first round picks. The Knicks can add a real good free agent to what they already have.