Malik Monk Named a Top Priority for Magic in Free Agency

Sacramento's star sixth man could find his best fit in central Florida.

Jan 3, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk (0) looks on during the timeout. / Sergio Estrada-USA TODAY Sports

After a quiet 2023 off-season, the Sacramento Kings are expected to have a busy 2024 summer with a potential roster overhaul outside of their star duo of De'Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. The most likely change will be losing star sixth man Malik Monk to a franchise that is willing to pay him more than Sacramento can offer.

One team that has been floating around Monk rumors is the Orlando Magic, who are currently in a tough first-round battle against the Cleveland Cavaliers following their best regular season in 13 years.

Orlando posted the league's third-best defensive rating this season but finished bottom ten in offense. For a team that is in desperate need of more offensive firepower, Monk could be their guy in free agency, which is what Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report suggests:

"Malik Monk profiles as a clean fit, even if the Magic should be careful about overspending on a player who showed out during a contract year," Hughes writes. "Though he only shot 35.0 percent from deep, he posted the highest assist rate on drives (minimum 6.0 drives per game) in the league. Orlando's shooting is a weakness, but so is its lack of backcourt facilitation. Monk addresses the latter better than most other options. The Sacramento Kings can only offer four years and $78 million, a figure the Magic should be comfortable exceeding."

Monk finished his seventh season in the league with career-highs across the board. Monk averaged 15.4 points and 5.1 assists per game, but an MCL sprain ended his season prematurely.

While Monk has made it clear that his free agency decision is not only about money, the Magic are a great team with a promising future, so if they offer him enough it will be hard to turn it down. It is certainly a priority for Sacramento to do what they can to re-sign Monk, but Kings fans must prepare to lose their favorite sixth man.

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