Malik Monk knows that the Kings were willing to deal him in order to acquire Jonathan Kuminga from the Warriors. Monk’s contract, which runs through the 2027/28 season and includes a player option, wasn’t one Golden State was willing to take on.
Now that Kuminga has signed a two-year contract with Golden State, that saga has ended and Monk says he looks at Sacramento as his home and “loves” it there, according to Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee.
“For some people, yeah, but for me, what I’ve been through, no,” Monk said of whether he let the trade talk bother him. “And my support system is amazing. My brother, my agent, my mom, they always keep me upbeat, but I came to talk to (new general manager Scott Perry), too, right before everything, and he told me the same thing my agent told me. I like that from Scott. I appreciate him for coming forward and telling me to come talk to him. That’s being professional. A lot of GMs don’t do that, so I thank Scott for that.”
We have more from the Pacific Division:
- Following contentious negotiations, Kuminga chose to sign a contract that would still allow him to be trade-eligible in mid-January. It also includes a team option. That means the speculation about his future won’t die down, Nick Friedell of The Athletic notes. Coach Steve Kerr says he doesn’t blame Kuminga for trying to get the best contract possible as a restricted free agent. “It’s just, this is the business we’re in, you know?” Kerr said. “I never begrudge any player for trying to get the best contract that he can. In fact, having been a player, I always feel like it’s part of my job to help our guys do the best they can come contract-wise and help them become the best players that they can be. Put themselves in the best position to have a great career, to sign a good contract, take care of their families. These are short careers, and so I want all our players to do well, how it gets there sometimes can be messy. I’m not worried about any of that.”
- Kawhi Leonard addressed to a certain extent the allegation that the Clippers tried to circumvent the salary cap by arranging an alleged no-show endorsement deal with the now-defunct company Aspiration. He claims he’s not worried about the league’s on-going investigation, according to Law Murray of The Athletic. “The NBA is going to do their job,” Leonard said. “None of us did no wrongdoing. And yeah, I mean, that’s it. We invite the investigations. It’s not going to be a distraction for me or the rest of the team.” The Clippers have become experts in blocking out all the outside noise, Murray opines in a separate story.
- The Lakers signed Jake LaRavia to a two-year contract during free agency. It was a low-profile move but the Lakers hope the 23-year-old forward can be a big part of their future, Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the Los Angeles Times writes. “To get a young player — a young player in free agency for a team that is trying to win a championship — it’s an incredible opportunity for myself and our player development department to have him continue to grow,” head coach JJ Redick said. “Jake, I’m very high on him. His level of commitment to what we’ve asked of the guys this offseason has been very high.”
Let’s go Kerr! You were part of the brain to draft Kuminga and coached him for 4 years. Please put him in a position to flourish this season. Please be patient and not get “personal” with a young player. Let him make mistakes. You might lose some games here and there early, but he can and will reward back hundredfolds later. You will need Kuminga to be a serious contender this season. It will be a helluva “feel good” story for the team. Get it done Coach!!
Putting this right here to save us all time from arguing in the future:
STEVE KERR ON WHAT HE TOLD JONATHAN KUMINGA AFTER 2024-25 PLAYOFFS
link to hoopshype.com
“IF JK COMES BACK, WE WILL FOR SURE SPEND THE EARLY PART OF THE SEASON PLAYING HIM WITH JIMMY, DRAYMOND, AND STEPH. TO ME, THAT WOULD BE A NO-BRAINER. WE DIDN’T HAVE THAT LUXURY THIS YEAR.. WE’VE BASICALLY BEEN IN THE PLAYOFFS SINCE THE MINUTE WE GOT JIMMY AND THAT WAS ALSO WHEN JK GOT HURT.”
Kuminga was a starter to start last season. It lasted 2 games. In those 2 games, he was substitited after 5 minutes. Then, he didnt get back on the court for the longest time.
Game 3 and following games, he was literally the last player off the bench to get into the games. What happened in the locker room? Why did they even start him for 2 games? How is the player suppose to play with confidence and trust his coach?
MIchol, I’m glad you mentioned this because so many folks refuse to acknowledge it.
Before the season, Kerr mentioned several times that he was going to stick with the Steph, Wiggins, Draymond, TJD and JK lineup for as long as possible because he believed it was their strongest offensive AND defensive lineup, but that he thought it might take a while to gel. Kerr also said the team’s success hinged on JK’s further development, and that he wanted to support him. JK and the FO were working on a rookie extension at the time, which fell through.
That is why it was, as you mention, it was so surprising that Kerr benched Kuminga after 2 games. If you’ll recall, he didn’t tell Kuminga in person that this was happening, but, rather, sent him a text before the game and left him twisting in the wind to explain it to the media after.
OK Trixie. This is a shock to you? Why? Kerr said this even before the playoffs started. Why does this surprise you? The Warriors had amazing chemistry from the moment Butler arrived. Why upset what was working? It is a new season. There is no pressure from a playoff push. They can work on all the things they need to early. Everything will be worked out when it comes to push for the playoffs. If JK had signed earlier, he could have joined Draymond and Butler to work things out. He would have been further along coming into training camp. Such is life.
@giants74, FALSE
The quote is from AFTER the season ended. Not before.
The season ended on May 14. The interview with Kerr was on May 16. Kerr was talking about the FUTURE season. The one that starts right now.
Put it in your memory bank. Kerr promised JK to integrate him this season. On the record.
I’m not sure what you are upset about. Kerr said, before JK came back from his injury, that JK would have to adapt his game to how the team was playing. It is easier to do this at training camp or earlier in the season. They have to play together to develop chemistry. It is difficult to do that in a playoff push. Why doesn’t that make sense to you?
I’m not upset about anything. Just trying to help you keep your facts straight.
A team with the aspirations that the Warriors have don’t have the luxury to allow a young player to msje a lot of mistakes.
Kuminga is highly athletic, has the body and height and defense. So, it makes me wonder why Kerr seems to have so little trust in him. I think it’s likely what Kuminga has going on between his ears. He may not be the brightest bulb, and that is hurting his potential. Otherwise, you’d think Kuminga is the Warriors future, but the team and Kerr don’t see him that way, and instead see him as a trade chip for a team that doesn’t know him as well as they do.
It is simple. I don’t know why people don’t understand this. The Warrior’s offense involves a lot of ball movement. JK likes to play isoball. He needs to learn to learn to look for the open man and pass more. Draymond and Butler do that all the time. The ball will comeback to JK and he can score.
@johnnybgood, with respect, I’d like to correct some of your assumptions. Generally, it’s false to say that Kuminga doesn’t “fit” or that he doesn’t make the other players around him better.
We have a 2 year data sample of Curry+Green lineups being significantly better with Kuminga on the court:
Curry+Green lineups (Kuminga ON):
901 minutes
+11.1 Net Rating
Curry+Green lineups (Kuminga OFF):
1806 minutes
+3.5 Net Rating
We also have lots of data on the performance of lineup combinations. Among the most interesting is that the lineup of Curry, Podz, Wiggins, Green and Kuminga was the second best in the NBA (by point differential) in 2023-24. (Second to the a Celtics lineup with Tatum, Brown, White, Horford, and Holliday.)
There are 2 complicating issues to the Kuminga analysis:
1) At the beginning of the 2024-25 season, Kerr decided not to use his successful 2023-24 lineups, but, instead move from a 10 to a 12-14 man rotation.
2) Kuminga’s role was taken by Jimmy Butler, who is better.
If the Kings do not get off to a good start Monk will be one of the first to go. He also knows that teams were not pounding at the Kings door wanting him.
He was almost out of the league a few years ago. Based on that and what he’s saying here, seems like he has a pretty good perspective on the realities of an NBA career for non stars
i am not blaming him for saying that any NBA player would say the same thing.
@arc, I wasn’t disagreeing with you
disagreeing about what?
> He was almost out of the league a few years ago.
Yes, but that was 4 years ago. He was in very high demand as a FA after last season, where he was runner-up for 6th Man of Year. The previous season, he was also very high in the voting.
I’m not buying the idea that an elite 6th man coming off a 17 ppg season that makes only $17M/yr isn’t highly movable. This off-season has been aberrant because of cap correction. If the Kings want to trade Monk, there will be buyers this trade season.
So he’s the first to go but no teams are asking for him? What?
Some team will have an injury and they will offer something the kings want. Kings management knows they will need to pay Muarry next year who they value and want to stay under the apron. Zach is going nowhere so they are stuck with that bad contract.