Malik Monk Says LeBron James, Anthony Davis Will Open Things To Him

After struggling to shoot the ball from a distance for much of the past two seasons, the Lakers have prioritized shooting and attacking over defense during the offseason and free will. The signings of Carmelo Anthony, Kendrick Nunn and Wayne Ellington indicate a change in direction from one end of the field to the other.

Another intriguing name included in the Lakers’ summer signings is goaltender Malik Monk. After a stellar season at Charlotte, Monk came to Los Angeles on a minimum contract seeking to play alongside Anthony Davis and learn from Russell Westbrook and a roster of veterans. At the same time, Monk will provide the Lakers with a diverse punch off the bench that they didn’t get, highlighted by his long-range shot.

Monk’s breakout season, including him shooting 40.1% off the 3-point line, a career best mark. That percentage would have ranked only behind Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Marc Gasol last season for the Lakers. It also comes despite not nearly having our eyes peeled like the Lakers shooters did last year, something Monk is looking forward to this season.

“It’ll open everything up to me,” Monk said of playing alongside LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook. “A lot easier shots, a lot more undisputed shots, a lot more runs that I can go down because LeBron, AD, and Russ are going to make the floor more open for all of us.”

Even without Westbrook factored into the equation last season, James and Davis were able to create a significant amount of open and wide open looks for Lakers shooters. Here’s a graph showing the open and wide open 3-point attempts for the Lakers last year as well as Monk during his season at Charlotte.

Some of the Lakers’ open shots are due to their reputation as shooters like Dennis Schröder and, to a lesser extent, Kyle Kuzma were more likely to be left open. However, players like Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Wesley Matthews are more respected shooters and always had a fair amount of open, wide-open looks last season.

Given a greater dose of open, wide-open gazes, Monk could prove to be a particularly powerful weapon. His reputation as a shooter will also force defenses to respect his shot more and open up avenues of conduct for his teammates, superstars and role players.

“I’m just trying to be the best I can be at every little aspect of the game, and I think I bring a lot to the table here too with all the big guys here, man,” Monk said. “LeBron, AD, Russ, Carmelo (Anthony), Dwight (Howard), everybody man. Everybody. I can feed off them and I think I can learn a lot from them. So I bring excitement, just like Westbrook, to the game. In addition to shooting.

Ultimately, it should be a mutually beneficial partnership where the Lakers land a dynamic shooter and scorer and Monk lands in a situation he believes he can thrive on after several years in Charlotte where he said consistent minutes were hard to achieve. find from one season to another.

“I’m just grateful for the opportunity to be here with all of these greats and this amazing organization,” said Monk. “I think I’ll get everything out of it. “

If he’s able to match last season’s production. Monk gives the Lakers a different goalscorer than any they had last season. And that level of scoring would pave the way for the Lakers to take their offense to the next level.

For more Lakers talk, subscribe to the Silver Screen and Roll podcast feed on itunes, Spotify, Stapler Where Google Podcasts. You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude.