Malik Monk, Kings Agree to Four-Year, $78M Contract

Free agent guard Malik Monk agreed to sign a four-year, $78 million deal to remain with the Sacramento Kings on Thursday night, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. His new contract includes a player option as well.

Malik Monk will sign his new deal with Sacramento Kings when NBA’s moratorium ends July 6

Monk’s agents, Jeff Schwartz and Marcus Monk of Excel Sports, were able to begin negotiations Tuesday with Kings general manager Monte McNair and assistant GM Wes Wilcox. The seven-year NBA veteran intends to sign the new deal once the league’s moratorium ends July 6.

Monk, 26, finished as the 2023-24 NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year runner-up behind Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged career highs of 15.4 points and 5.1 assists with Sacramento.

ESPN Sources: Free agent G Malik Monk intends to sign a four-year, $78 million deal — including a player option — to return to the Sacramento Kings. Monk had career-bests of 15 points and five assists on his way to the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year runner-up. pic.twitter.com/J8KuOwPl0H

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 21, 2024

Last season, the reserve guard also helped the Kings clinch their second consecutive winning season, the ninth overall since moving to Sacramento from Kansas City in 1985.

Moreover, Malik Monk revitalized his NBA career with the Kings, leading the league in points and assists off the bench last season and becoming one of only two players in the past 25 years to have 1,000 points and 300 assists as a reserve.

In Sacramento’s 138-135 double-overtime win against the Orlando Magic on Jan. 3, he recorded 37 points, three rebounds, nine assists, two steals, and a block in a career-high 46 minutes off the bench.

Monk had nine 25-point games off the bench with Sacramento, the most since Eddie Johnson in 1986-87

More importantly, Monk helped bring the Kings back to the playoffs and play-in tournament in consecutive seasons, ending a 16-year postseason drought.

A knee injury sidelined him for the final nine games of the 2023-24 regular season and the play-in tournament. Monk had nine 25-point games off the bench for the Kings, the most since Eddie Johnson in the 1986-87 season, according to ESPN Stats & Information.

Furthermore, Monk finished the 2023-24 season with the most 20-point games as a reserve, along with the most clutch points, field goals, and 3-pointers made off the bench.

Malik Monk was selected 11th overall by the Charlotte Hornets in the 2017 NBA draft out of Kentucky. The Arkansas native spent his first four seasons (2017-21) with the Hornets before signing a free agent deal with the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of the 2021-22 season.