Asked earlier this week about Malik Monk‘s recovery from an MCL sprain, Shams Charania of The Athletic said during an appearance on FanDuel’s Run it Back show (Twitter video link) that the Kings guard still isn’t anywhere close to returning to action.
“Malik Monk is going to be out well into April and May. He’s not going to return anywhere in this play-in tournament (or) the first round,” Charania said. “The Kings are preparing to move forward here – if they do they make it into the playoffs – for at least the first round without Malik Monk.”
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Monk didn’t rule out the possibility of making it back during the first round if the Kings advance, but admitted that he doesn’t yet have a clear idea of what his timeline will look like, since he hasn’t gotten back on the court or done any running yet (Twitter video link). Sacramento is expected to reevaluate him around April 27.
Following a win over Golden State on Tuesday, the Kings will be in New Orleans on Friday facing a banged-up Pelicans team that will be missing star forward Zion Williamson, so there’s a path to the No. 8 seed for Sacramento. Still, it sounds as if the Kings would probably need to knock off the No. 1 Thunder in the first round to have a chance to see Monk back in action this spring.
Monk will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, with the Kings holding his Early Bird rights.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Kings star De’Aaron Fox put in significant time last offseason training with second-year forward Keegan Murray, so Fox was thrilled to see the former No. 4 overall pick have a huge game on Tuesday, writes Hunter Patterson of The Athletic. Murray scored a game-high 32 points in Sacramento’s play-in victory over Golden State. “Just seeing his development, and how different he’s been,” Fox said. “… Obviously we want to see it on a consistent basis. But just seeing that come to fruition and seeing the work he put in all summer, especially on a big stage like this, it’s definitely great to see.”
- Within a look at what’s next for the Warriors, Logan Murdock of The Ringer says league sources believe Andrew Wiggins will be included in trade discussions this offseason. Stephen Curry told Murdock that continuing to push toward contention is his top priority. “I want to win,” Curry said. “Plain and simple. It’s not my job to make all of those decisions, but it’s my job to hold people accountable and say I want to win, and I’ll give my input, but I just want to win.”
- An unrestricted free agent this offseason, veteran forward Royce O’Neale suggested that he has enjoyed his time in Phoenix and would be open to re-signing with the Suns. “Yeah, for sure. It’s a great place, team, organization,” O’Neale said (Twitter video link via Gerald Bourguet of PHNX Sports). “It’s been great since I’ve been here, since day one.”
- Already projected to be over the second tax apron next season, the Suns may be motivated to re-sign O’Neale since they’ll have limited resources to add outside talent. But a new deal for the forward would exponentially increase the projected luxury tax bill for team owner Mat Ishbia. “(Ishbia)’s gonna cost himself a s—ton of money under the new collective bargaining agreement,” one opposing executive told Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com. “He just is. If he wants to pay it, that’s fine. The point is that he’s mortgaged everything on this current group here, and once this runs its course … that is, when (Kevin Durant) starts to slow down — and he hasn’t yet; he’s still very good — they’re going to be in a tough situation.”
Wiggs out Lebron in
The Lakers outright demand all of GS’s young players in addition, so talks end instantly.
You can have those Bob Myers young guys. Take them. See the difference between Keegan Murray and Jonathan Kuminga? No comparison.
Moses Moody? What’s really going on with him? It looks like he can hit the three but otherwise he’s just a guy. Rookie contract extension would be coming up soon and I say let him walk or trade him or something.
Dunleavy’s young guys are untouchable. Davis knows what he’s doing out there and Podski is truly an amazing player.
Those two wouldn’t be enough. The Lakers still (correctly) value LeBron as an elite offensive talent who can step up on D when needed.
Also disagree with your assessments of Kuminga and Moody (Moody needs more PT, and the way Kerr benched him while he was red-hot and went back to the corpse of Klay in the play-in was baffling). Kuminga’s jumper needs work, but he’s a quality defender and finisher at both forward spots.
Plus there’s no way the FO would pay up even Kuminga and Moody for LeBron, so it’s a nonsense idea even from Golden State’s perspective. Trading for LeBron is difficult because teams wouldn’t want to come to an agreement that underrates his value for LA, and such a deal would be prohibitively expensive in terms of talent for the team acquiring him.
I’m speaking in general. LeBron’s not coming to the bay.
But you can have Jonathan Kuminga and you can have Moses Moody. They are not all stars. They will never be all stars.
Moses Moody is just a guy who maybe hits the three. Well there’s dozens of those in the nba. Bob Myers was always enamored with a guy’s long arms. Ryan Rollins Etc he would draft on their physical presence and athleticism rather than being able to predict the kind of career a guy would have.
And Jonathan Kuminga? Can’t shoot it as a three and at 6-6 he’s outmatched at the four.
Again he can jump through the roof and Myers loves that kind of thing. But will he be an all-star? I don’t think so. Time to ship them out instead of committing to keeping these guys.
I disagree with ALL of that.
First off, Kuminga is 6’8″. 210 lbs with a 6’11” wingspan. He can more than hold his own against fours, and he’s shown that all year. Especially for a smaller team like GS. He’s not Draymond, but if that’s the standard you’re judging his defense by, then barely anyone is a viable 3-4.
Second, dismissing Moody as a Damion Lee clone (someone who can only shoot and nothing else) is a mistake. Dude is a quality defender who can create his own shot. In some ways he’s better at that than he is off-ball. And he’s been effective from *every range*. That’s rare, especially for guys who are primarily guards. Sure, he’s best used as a 3&D wing. But quality 3&D wings don’t grow on trees, and with the contract Grayson Allen got, guys on Moody’s level are going to cost anyway. Might as well get one who is young and has upside.
Third, Kuminga can shoot. He’s not consistent, and needs to improve, but a large part of that is being something like the ninth option as a 3pt shooter. He’s mostly been used for his length and finishing. That’s the plays that are run for him. You can’t take shots that aren’t there if you aren’t a star, because you’ll get benched, and Kuminga has already had to fight for Playing Time. Last year he shot 37% on the same volume as this year. He also took a big step forward with his FT shooting, which is a good sign for his 3pt shooting potential. On top of that, at only 2 attempts per game, you have exactly zero leeway to have a bad shooting game, let alone a bad shooting stretch. He shot 41% in the last month of the season, after returning from injury. In January he shot 39%. He can shoot when he gets a consistent rhythm going.
EON you always disagree with ALL my opinions. No change here.
The strongest most blatant error of your reply is Moses Moody’s defense. He is not a good Defender. Have you watched any of the games? He’s just out there running around and sort of stays with a guy, but then Trails him as he cuts to the basket and hoping Davis bails them out.
He wishes he was Damion Lee LOL Hopefully over time and work, he’ll be a rotational piece, and at that time he’ll be as good as Damion Lee.
So you’re 100% wrong there. He can hit the three but so can Lee. The decision on him must be made this summer because of the contract thing. Adios.
Jonathan Kmminga is still the same player who came out of the G league. He has a nice little Fall Away jumper that he’s probably been working on but other than that he doesn’t have a reliable offensive game. A guy like you probably thinks Zion Williamson has a great offensive game.
That’s rubbish. Zion hasn’t worked on his game in 6 years and just bullies people, uses his raw athleticism and quickness and gets away with it for now.
He is such a freak athlete that he can hide his lack of skill.
I would apply that same logic to Jonathan Kuminga. Freak athlete with no game. I’ll give him the fact it looked like he was trying harder this year, but it’s a contract year so there’s that. For one of the three years he had to work hard, keep his mouth shut, don’t complain and build value. You’re not a warrior fan so you of course don’t remember that Jonathan’s reputation was in the toilet last year. He listened to the right people probably Draymond, and fixed it this year. Kudos to him?
I’m done with those two. They shown me nothing in 3 years to Warrant any kind of new contract. And that’s the both of them. Adios.
I have never see you this upset. You are always cordial, lol. Always saying things that people like to hear….. Anyways, you are blaming the wrong guys. It’s true that Warriors did a terrible job with their draft assets, but they also did a poor job of developing them. Wiseman was the worst unfortunately. They should have played Kuminga and Moody more last yr and Poole should have been inserted as a starter last year. We can blame Poole all we want and make fun of his poor play this year, but he gave Warriors a different dimension. Anyways, instead of panicking or blaming the youngsters, it’s time for Klay, Green, Wiggins, and …. Curry to go. THIS offseason is the last chance to get good value back for Curry and Green.
I’m very upset. Warriors go home as a 10 seed. What’s to like other than Steph Curry? Well I do like the two rookies they both showed me quite a bit especially the guard.
I was upset with the pick at first but he is extremely impressive. I’ve never seen a guard want the ball on every rebound as much as he does. It is fun to watch him play in all seriousness.
But yeah going home early sucks and I have been crying about it. Worst part is we don’t even have the draft to look forward to.
Would Keegan Murray and Keon Ellis be enough? Absolutely and that’s my point. Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody it’s time to hit the road.
a lot of kneejerk reaction to one game. also if Kings advance over NO they’re going to lose to OKC.
One game bro? It’s the season. It’s over. They put the old guys on the floor for one more run and they couldn’t get it done.
It’s not just one game. So you think they run it back same Squad do it again next year because it’s just one game one loss no big deal they play again?
Absolutely not, this proves that this current lineup can’t win. The 10 seed? Seriously? One game? Wow.
you think Keegan Murray is better than Kuminga?
13.3 PER to 17.0?
Has Kerr given Moody a chance to play? Moody was the only guy on the floor who looked capable of scoring outside of Steph Tuesday night.
I’ve watched Moody play with my own eyes. I watched him crumble in his final game with Arkansas in the tournament and I watched him with the Warriors for a few years. He’s just a guy.
The rookie contract comes up this summer so what do you do? You’re going to pay him to stick around? I’d rather make a change.
Suns have to sign oneal, like they had to sign allen.
I know with the tax its basically double the contract, but its allen or oneal, or minimum contracts.
I do hope they find a way to bring back bol bol
No team in NBA history finished 10 games over .500 and wound up a 10 seed. And I’m guessing the same could be said for any team in major sports history. The Western Conference is scary. And with a mentally healthy Green and Wiggins, they probably finish 6th. All posters who hate Green, I get it. But he’s the glue of that team. If you disagree, then you probably haven’t watched every game. Hell, he shot over 40% on 3s. Problem is staying on the floor. Duh! Thompson waited until after all star break to get it going. So are they far away from being title contenders? There are a lot of “ifs” to deal with. Wiggins? Definitely the major wild card and he should be traded but it will take 2 or 3 add ins to get it done. Paul is gone. And if $24mil/yr was rejected by Klay before, it looks like $30mil/yr will get him signed. Marks says that’s what it’ll take. Thompson playing at top level for a third of the year again will not cut it. If Thompson takes $20 mil/yr, I’d keep him. Anyways, without Wiggins and Paul (and maybe another with Wiggins), top 6 is possible for sure. Curry Green the rooks Looney Payton is a good base. Gary might be right about Kuminga. So packaging him in a Wiggins deal could get a good return (shot blocker to go with Davis?). And Thompson? Coin toss I guess. I’m just saying this isn’t doomsday…yet.
you hit some decent ideas.
first order of business is moving Wiggs, he has demonstrated he’s unreliable. Get him out of the foxhole because he can’t protect his teammates.
Klay will have to decide, legacy and winning vs compensation. Honestly if a team offers him more than 2/48 then Dubs should let him walk. 40 games of Klay at above average does not outweigh his 11 games with single digit scoring, shooting 2-11, 1-9, 3-14. He simply doesn’t have the fast twich to keep up with 23-26 YOs anymore. But he can still contribute as a 6/7th man.
Kuminga needs to improve his decision making and increase his scoring output to 20+.
Warriors had 0 perimiter defense with an aging Steph, a physically compromised Klay and basketcase in Wiggs. They get a perimeter defender and a rim protector and they can still compete. Look what OG Anunoby did for the Knicks.
You’re right it’s not Doomsday yet, but the clock has ticked and is ticking ever closer. Still there are plenty of franchises and heartbroken fans across the nation that would kill to have the last 13 years the Warriors had.
Thats what doomsday is – 2 more seasons of same play in team at best. And then, perrenial lottery team. We all know tough decisions have to be made sooner than later.
Yes that’s exactly what it would be. Sign Klay for 2 years to match green and Curry and Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody and you get a play in team purgatory.
If that’s what you want fine. Probably makes the most sense to ownership as far as money Revenue fan base etc. I’m not comfortable with it though I don’t have an answer of an alternative plan other than Thompson’s got to go and the two younger guys got to go.