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Jacob Kupferman / Associated press
Shooting guard Malik Monk reportedly signed with Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday, ESPN says Adrien Wojnarowski.
The 23-year-old has never lived up to the 11th overall pick in the NBA in 2017. He has reached career average highs in points (11.7 PPG) and three-point percentage (40, 1%) during the 2020-21 season, although he only appeared in 42 games last season after sustaining injuries.
Much of Monk’s future will depend on whether his three-point shot from last season was his new normal or an outlier. He wasn’t good beyond the arc in his first three seasons, and he’s only 33.9% deep for his career.
If he can shoot at a high level, however, he can be a microwave scorer on the bench for the Lakers. It is a valuable role.
He’s not the one the Hornets liked, however, as the team chose not to make him a qualifying offer this season. If they had, they could have matched any offers he had received as a restricted free agent. Instead, he hit unrestricted free agency.
The moving Hornets were at least partially about their full guard strength. The squad is built around young LaMelo Ball players and rookie James Bouknight, while veteran Terry Rozier remains a key part of the team’s core. Monk probably wouldn’t have had a major role this coming season.
That said, if the Hornets thought he was a valuable contributor, they would at least have made him a qualifying offer. The Lakers, who are trying to surround LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Russell Westbrook with as many shooters as possible this offseason, are hoping Monk can take it to the next level as a player capable of delivering an instant attack on the bench in the vein of ‘a Lou Williams.
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