Malik Monk will be a popular player in the upcoming free agency cycle after putting up a career year with the Los Angeles Lakers. Monk recorded career-highs across the board and showed he could handle more offensive responsibility when given the opportunity.
The young guard was one of the few bright spots for the Lakers during the 2021-22 season, so it would seem like a no-brainer to make him a priority in the summer. However, Los Angeles may find it difficult to keep him because they are limited on the amount of money they can offer him.
One thing working in their favor is Monk has made it known he loves playing for the organization as well as with teammates like LeBron James and Anthony Davis. In fact, Monk believes he built up a solid relationship with both of the Lakers’ stars.
“Yeah, for sure. Me, AD, and Bron were talking a lot before the season even started about things like that and how me playing off them and those guys playing off me would work out and just big kudos to them for just being there for me and saying those things about me and letting me come here and be myself. Yeah, I definitely see it,” Monk said.
Monk had toiled away with the Charlotte Hornets trying to figure things out on his own, but in L.A., he credited the veterans on the roster for helping him improve on the floor.
“That was a big part of it cause if I didn’t step up those guys were going to let me know and they were going to tell me that I need to. And it changed my mindset. It definitely changed my mindset to be more locked in because I know I didn’t have much wiggle room to have errors.”
With players like James and Davis in his ear over the course of a year, Monk took strides in multiple areas of his game and was able to set himself up for future success. Even though he may have trouble crediting himself for the season he had, Monk deserves all the praise coming his way and it should result in a much more lucrative deal in the coming months.
Malik Monk believes he became more mature player
In Charlotte, Monk had to deal with constant change but with Los Angeles, it seems like he finally found the stability he needed. It felt like Monk really grew into his own during the season and he later admitted he believes he became a more mature person both on and off the court.
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