Malik Monk Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southeast Notes: Monk, Hornets, Magic, Iguodala

December 30th, 2020 at 10:01pm CST by Arthur Hill

Malik Monk is waiting for the Hornets to give him a chance after his bout with COVID-19 earlier this month, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Monk hasn’t gotten into a game yet this season and is fighting for playing time on a roster that’s much deeper at the wing than it was last year.

Monk will be a free agent when the offseason arrives, and the Hornets can make him restricted with a $7.3MM qualifying offer. He views this season as an audition for his NBA future.

“This is the big one. A big step to show what I can do,” Monk said. “With other teams, not only the Charlotte Hornets. To show other teams what I can do and how productive I can be. I can’t do that if I’m not on the court, but I don’t control that.”

Monk was hoping for better after a breakthrough performance in February when he averaged 17.0 PPG on 46% shooting in 13 games. However, before the month ended, he was suspended indefinitely for a violation of the NBA’s drug policy. Monk said he hasn’t received much feedback from coaches about what he needs to do to earn minutes.

“Super, super, super freaking frustrating (with) the waiting,” he said. “The month of February, I finally became an NBA player, finally got the minutes I thought I deserved a couple of years ago. I was proving myself. And that’s all I really could ask for at that point.”

There’s more from the Southeast Division:

Terry Rozier and Gordon Hayward have formed an instant chemistry as Hornets teammates, observes Sam Perley of NBA.com. They spent two years together with the Celtics, but Hayward was injured for much of that time. “Based on what I see, I think they play off each other well,” coach James Borrego said. “I’m sure they understand each other’s game at a higher level than if they just came in blindly to this situation. There’s history there, there’s chemistry, there’s connection. I think that helps us right now.”
The Magic are enjoying the benefits of their Serge Ibaka trade in 2017, notes Josh Cohen of NBA.com. With Ibaka headed toward free agency, Orlando shipped him to the Raptors at the deadline in exchange for Terrence Ross and a first-round pick. Ross is still a productive player for the Magic, and the pick eventually helped acquire Markelle Fultz from the Sixers.
The Heat used Andre Iguodala as a starter tonight, allowing him to extend a streak that began in 2004, tweets Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press. Iguodala has started at least one game in every calendar year since entering the league, but tonight marked his first start since the 2019 NBA Finals.

Southeast Notes: Okpala, Strus, Hornets, Monk

December 20th, 2020 at 5:24pm CST by JD Shaw

Heat forward KZ Okpala is making a strong case to be in the team’s rotation this season, Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald writes. Okpala, the No. 32 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, played in just five games last season, but the 21-year-old has impressed teammates and staffers alike during training camp.

“His physical tools are what impressed us, in particular the scouting department with Chet [Kammerer] and Adam [Simon] and Eric Amsler and Keith [Askins],” coach Erik Spoelstra said of why the team drafted Okpala. “They all just really thought it was unique how he can move his feet for someone his size. Then his length and he can seem bigger even than what he is. But he had to learn our system, learn the NBA and get in great shape and then be available day after day.

“This has really been a process since the quarantine in May and June when he was really working just to get his body right doing a lot of player development. That’s a credit to his work and consistency. … I would say he’s probably, considering everything, he probably was arguably top-three best conditioned going into camp, which was important and much different than his previous camp last year.”

Okpala, a 6’8″ forward, could help fill the holes left by Jae Crowder and Derrick Jones Jr., both of whom left in free agency. The Heat lack clarity on a starting five; they could choose to start Meyers Leonard alongside Bam Adebayo, as they did at the beginning of last season, or they could play small and start one of Okpala, Maurice Harkless or Andre Iguodala. The team could also give rookie Precious Achiuwa a shot in the lineup depending on his play.

Okpala had his best game in a Heat uniform on Friday, scoring 24 points, grabbing five rebounds and shooting 9-of-15 from the floor in 34 minutes of work.

There’s more from the Southeast Division tonight:

In a separate story for the Miami Herald, Anthony Chiang examines how Max Strus earned a two-way contract with the Heat. Strus, a 24-year-old sharpshooter, finished with 22 points off the bench on Friday, shooting 6-of-8 from 3-point range. He split time between Chicago and Windy City during the 2019/20 season.
John Hollinger of The Athletic previews the Hornets‘ upcoming season, examining what steps the team could take with the additions of Gordon Hayward and LaMelo Ball. Charlotte finished just 23-42 last season and ranked 29th in the NBA in offensive efficiency (106.3).
Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer examines Malik Monk‘s future with the Hornets. Charlotte drafted Monk, 22, with the No. 11 pick in 2017, but he’s struggled to gain a rhythm early in his career. He shot under 40% from the field in both of his first two seasons, managing to raise the mark to 43% last season — though his 28% shooting from deep was a career-low.

Southeast Notes: Monk, Heat, Fultz, Bamba, Zeller

December 10th, 2020 at 2:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Hornets guard Malik Monk, who tested positive for the coronavirus, has now received medical clearance and could begin practicing with the team as soon as this weekend, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.

According to Bonnell, Monk was scheduled to conduct individual workouts on Thursday and Friday. Hornets head coach James Borrego said that the former lottery pick should be able to participate in group workouts on Saturday and there’s still a chance he could play in the club’s second preseason game on Monday.

Here’s more from around the Southeast:

Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald, who says the Heat are expected to at least kick the tires on the possibility of a James Harden trade, examines what the team’s best possible offer for the Rockets star might look like. Removing the protections on the 2023 first-round pick previously sent to Oklahoma City would be important, Jackson notes, since it would allow Miami to move its ’25 and ’27 first-rounders without violating the Stepien rule.
Josh Robbins of The Athletic explains why the Magic remain bullish on Markelle Fultz‘s upside and says there’s “no doubt whatsoever” that the team will exercise its fourth-year option for 2021/22 on Mohamed Bamba this month.
Although Hornets fans view Terry Rozier and Cody Zeller as potential trade candidates, Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer suggests in a mailbag that the odds of either players being dealt in the next few months aren’t particularly high. Of the two, Zeller is probably more likely to be moved in 2020/21, Bonnell adds.

Malik Monk Tested Positive For COVID-19

December 4th, 2020 at 1:43pm CST by Luke Adams

Hornets guard Malik Monk is among the NBA players who recently tested positive for COVID-19, head coach James Borrego said today (Twitter link via Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer).

Monk isn’t currently experiencing coronavirus symptoms, but will miss at least several more days of practice, Bonnell notes.

The 11th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Monk hasn’t been the scorer and shooter the Hornets hoped for through his first three NBA seasons, averaging just 8.6 PPG with a .322 3PT% in 191 total games. His 2019/20 season came to an early end when he was suspended indefinitely for violating the league’s anti-drug policy. He was reinstated from that ban in June.

Although Monk hasn’t been a consistently productive player in Charlotte, he was playing well leading up to his suspension, scoring 17.0 PPG on .457/.350/.851 shooting in his last 13 games (27.9 MPG) of the ’19/20 campaign. He and the Hornets had been hoping to carry over that success to ’20/21, but his coronavirus diagnosis will set him back a little.

The NBA announced on Wednesday that 48 players tested positive for the coronavirus between November 24-30, so there are several other dozen players besides Monk waiting to be medically cleared.

Eastern Notes: Monk, Heat, Kanter, Dinwiddie

September 27th, 2020 at 5:43pm CST by JD Shaw

Hornets guard Malik Monk is seeking to regain the trust of his teammates after being suspended for violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy in February, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer writes.

Monk, who missed eight games due to the suspension and lost roughly $200K in salary, claims he’s in a better physical and emotional state now.

“I did it. I took my consequences for it,” Monk said of his suspension. “I think I’m making up for it right now. … I’m in a great place with my mind and my body. The responsibility now is even bigger for me to stay like this, instead of swerving off a little bit.”

Monk, the No. 11 pick of the 2017 draft, averaged 10.3 points and 2.1 assists in 21.3 minutes per game this season. He shot a career-high from the field (43.4%), though it was coupled with a career-low shooting mark from three-point territory (28.4%). Monk is entering the final year of his rookie contract, making him eligible for free agency in 2021.

Here are some other notes from the Eastern Conference tonight:

The Heat are utilizing veteran experience from Udonis Haslem and Andre Iguodala as they seek to reach their first NBA Finals since 2014, Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes. Haslem and Iguodala are the only Heat players to ever play in the Finals — both players are three-time NBA champions (Haslem with Miami in 2006, 2012, and 2013; Iguodala with Golden State in 2015, 2017 and 2018).
Chris Forsberg of NBC Boston explores how Enes Kanter saved the Celtics’ season with his energetic play in the first half of Game 5. Kanter recorded eight points, four rebounds, and two assists in just over nine minutes, providing a spark to keep Boston within reach entering halftime. “[Kanter] kind of kept us at bay,” head coach Brad Stevens said. “We were struggling, they hit some really tough shots. [Duncan] Robinson was going nuts, and Kanter’s points in the paint, I thought, really helped. And kind of helped steady us and give us a chance at halftime, only being down 7.”
Billy Reinhardt of NetsDaily examines whether the Nets’ offseason plans hinge on the fate of Spencer Dinwiddie, who could be traded in a package for a third star or kept as the lead ball-handler off the bench next season. Dinwiddie stepped up his play this season and has stated his willingness to surrender offensive opportunities for Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant, averaging a career-high 20.6 points and 6.8 assists per game on the season.

Pacific Notes: Howard, Warriors, Kings, Kawhi

September 22nd, 2020 at 12:46pm CST by Luke Adams

A year after Dwight Howard‘s NBA career appeared to be on life support, the veteran center is once again healthy and making an impact for a Lakers team that has become the strong favorite to win the 2020 championship, writes Chris Mannix of SI.com.

As Mannix details, Howard wore out his welcome at several of his other recent NBA stops, including in Charlotte. The Hornets believed the big man “didn’t impact winning,” according to one team official, and were worried about the influence he might have on the team’s young players, including Malik Monk.

In Los Angeles, Howard has accepted a complementary role that suits him and is part of a locker room whose veteran leaders are capable of quelling any chemistry issues that may arise, according to Mannix, who suggests that the eight-time All-Star should be able to extend his NBA career by a few years if he’s willing to play a similar role going forward.

Here’s more from around the Pacific:

James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area explores Isaac Okoro‘s potential fit with the Warriors, suggesting that the young forward has the chance to develop into an Andre Iguodala-type player.
In a separate story for NBC Sports California, James Ham identifies some of the key questions facing new Kings head of basketball operations Monte McNair, who will have big decisions to make on De’Aaron Fox, Bogdan Bogdanovic, and Buddy Hield, among others.
Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee takes a look at the analytics background that McNair brings to Sacramento and how his expertise in that field may affect the Kings‘ basketball decisions going forward.
The Clippers‘ second-round loss this summer was a disappointing one, but it will help two-time Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard learn the role that failure plays in superstardom, contends Michael Lee of The Athletic.

Southeast Notes: Ross, Heat, Monk, Hornets

August 16th, 2020 at 3:33pm CST by JD Shaw

Magic guard Terrence Ross has recovered from a stomach ailment and is now back with the team for the postseason, Roy Parry of the Orlando Sentinel writes. Ross, who left the Orlando campus for medical care last week, described his experience in great detail, explaining what caused the issue in the first place.

“Sometimes your stomach creates too much stomach acid when you eat and it can get into your esophagus,” he said.

Ross finished eating in the team room at roughly 8:30 pm before ordering more food just 90 minutes later, according to Parry. He went to bed around 10:40 and began to experience sharp pains shortly after that.

“I started feeling like … almost like really, really, really intense like heartburn, almost. But then I realized it was more than that,” Ross said. “I didn’t even know what it was at the time but it was debilitating. It hurt. I was hunched over the floor for like an hour in the fetal position because of just whatever I wanted to do, everything that I was doing was just amplified and getting worse. So I called the team doctor and they took it from there.”

The Magic are set to open their first-round playoff series against the Bucks on Tuesday with Ross in the rotation. He has averaged 14.7 points, 3.2 rebounds and 27.4 minutes per game off the bench this season, shooting 40% from the field and 35% from downtown.

Here’s more from the Southeast Division today:

Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel explores whether the Heat are truly ready for the playoffs in his latest “Ask Ira” mailbag. Head coach Erik Spoelstra has opted to change his rotation in Orlando, starting forward Jae Crowder in place of Meyers Leonard in order to play smaller and quicker.
Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer examines whether Malik Monk could make a similar leap with the Hornets that Devonte’ Graham did. Charlotte drafted Monk with the No. 11 pick in 2017, with Monk averaging a career-high 10.3 points and 2.9 rebounds per contest this season.
Bonnell also examined a perk the Hornets got from the Orlando restart in a separate story for the Charlotte Observer, securing a 2020 second-round draft pick from the Celtics. Charlotte finished with the tenth-best record in the Eastern Conference at 23-42 this season.

Hornets Notes: Offseason, Washington, Monk, Hernangomez

June 10th, 2020 at 3:48pm CST by Luke Adams

The Hornets lobbied to be included in the NBA’s restart this summer and are “very disappointed” not to be part of it, president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak said on Tuesday, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. However, Kupchak and head coach James Borrego accepted the league’s decision and will be satisfied with an opportunity to conduct team activities this summer.

As Bonnell details, Borrego thinks it would make sense for the bottom eight teams not invited to Orlando to be permitted to practice while the other 22 clubs are playing at Disney in August.

“The amount of time they’re spending with their teams and their players as a unit, we believe we should have the same. That would level the playing field a little bit more,” Borrego said. “For me, it’s more about the time that we have (to work with players and to scrimmage) — that it syncs with what (other teams are) getting in Orlando — and also the live play, which we don’t get a lot in the summer.”

Here’s more on the Hornets:

Also within that Bonnell article linked above: Borrego said he thought P.J. Washington should be on this season’s All-Rookie First Team, and Kupchak said that the Hornets are still in talent-acquisition mode rather than focusing on fit. “At some point, we’ll hopefully be that advanced, to sit down and talk about, ‘Hey, we’ve got five or six guys with great talent, now how do they fit together?'” Kupchak said, according to Bonnell. “I don’t think we’re there right now.”
In a separate article for The Observer, Bonnell digs into whether the Hornets have any realistic paths to acquiring a star player.
Now that Malik Monk has been reinstated following his drug suspension, he’s set to enter a big year in 2020/21. As Scott Fowler of The Charlotte Observer writes, the Hornets may have to move on from Monk next year if he doesn’t take a noticeable step forward after three up-and-down seasons.
Willy Hernangomez will be an unrestricted free agent this offseason, but he said today that he plans to remain in Charlotte for most or all of the summer, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Hernangomez added that he’d “love” to re-sign with the Hornets if possible. “I love Charlotte, I love the group of guys we have,” he said, per Bonnell (Twitter links). “I want to be part of the young core that we have.”

Malik Monk Reinstated Following Drug Suspension

June 8th, 2020 at 10:03am CST by Luke Adams

Hornets guard Malik Monk has been reinstated by the NBA following his suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug policy, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak confirmed the news during his end-of-season press conference on Monday morning, adds Malika Andrews of ESPN (via Twitter).

The NBA announced Monk’s indefinite suspension on February 26. At the time, the league indicated that the ban would continue until Monk was determined to be “in full compliance” with the anti-drug program — presumably, that has now happened.

The full details surrounding Monk’s suspension weren’t announced or reported, but the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement states that certain drug violations – including for drugs of abuse – require a player to enter a treatment or care program. If the player violates the terms of that program, he will be suspended “until such time as the Medical Director determines that he has fully complied” with the program, per the CBA.

Monk missed eight games due to the suspension before the NBA put its season on hold in March. A suspension of less than 20 games was projected to cost the third-year guard just under $28K per game (1/145th of his $4,028,400 salary). That would work out to about $222K in lost income for Monk, and the abrupt end of Charlotte’s season figures to further cut into his earnings for 2019/20.

The 11th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Monk hasn’t been the scorer and shooter the Hornets hoped for through his first three NBA seasons, averaging just 8.6 PPG with a .322 3PT%. However, he had played well leading up to his suspension, scoring 17.0 PPG on .457/.350/.851 shooting in his last 13 games (27.9 MPG) of the 2019/20 season.

Monk is one of two dozen players who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension once the 2020/21 league year begins. However, the odds of Charlotte extending him this offseason are extremely slim, given his inconsistent play on the court and the suspension that kept him off it.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Eastern Notes: Kennard, Biyombo, Van Gundy, Tatum

June 5th, 2020 at 6:41pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pistons swingman Luke Kennard has fully healed from the knee tendinitis that sidelined him for nearly three months before the season was suspended, Rod Beard of the Detroit News tweets. Kennard will have to wait until December to play again since the lottery-bound Pistons won’t be part of 22-team restart in Orlando. He’ll be eligible for a rookie scale extension when this season ends.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

The Hornets’ season is over and that means three of their players are now free agents, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer notes. Centers Bismack Biyombo and Willy Hernangomez and guard Dwayne Bacon will be on the market in October when free agency begins. Guard Malik Monk remains suspended indefinitely for violation of the NBA anti-drug policy, Bonnell adds. Monk was suspended in late February.
Tom Thibodeau is considered the front-runner for the Knicks head coaching job and Jeff Van Gundy says Thibodeau is misunderstood, Marc Berman of the New York Post relays. The longtime TV analyst and former Knicks coach made his comments during a Sirius XM Radio interview. “Unfortunately for him the perception of him on the sidelines as this gruff, nasty dude is not even close to who is he personally,” Van Gundy said. “Like, he is a great guy. He’s fun to be around. He’s enjoyable to be around, and he loves basketball.”
NBC Sports’ A. Sherrod Blakely takes a close look on what Celtics fans should watch for when the season resumes, including whether Jayson Tatum can continue his breakout season.