Malik Monk has spent the past year blowing up box scores on a prospect-stacked Kentucky team. He’s now ready to bring his explosiveness and scoring ability to the league as one of the top prospects in this year’s NBA Draft.
Who Is Malik Monk?
Malik Monk declared for the NBA draft fresh from a heartbreaking loss to the eventual NCAA Champions, the North Carolina Tar Heels. Monk would have been the hero were it not for a last-second game-winner by some guy named Luke Maye.
Heartbreak aside, Malik Monk spent his single-season as a Kentucky Wildcat earning himself a reputation as an offensive juggernaut. In 38 games, Monk led the SEC (seventh in the NCAA) in points, averaging 19.8 per game.
Despite starting on a Kentucky team stacked with NBA talent, Monk stood out and was named the 2016-17 SEC Player of the Year.
Malik Monk, who turned 19 in February, brings to the NBA a string of amazing offensive performances and consistent scoring ability in an extremely-athletic 6’4” frame.
Let’s take a closer look at Malik Monk, and how his skills might translate to an NBA setting.
Strengths
Overall, Monk is a scorer. Plain and simple. Any team looking for instant offense in a strong and explosive body will have a nearly impossible time passing him up.
Monk’s bread and butter is his ability to score. He is efficient all over the floor, and can’t be left alone behind the three-point line. He led the SEC in three-point field goal makes and attempts.
His speed and ability to score in transition has impressed, as has his catch-and-shoot ability. His jumper is smooth and he is confident shooting, but does not play selfishly.
A 47-point explosion in December against North Carolina set a Kentucky record for most points in a game by a freshman.
While Monk is a volume scorer on a very good Kentucky team, he doesn’t seem to play selfishly. He is a willing passer, however he could certainly work to improve his vision and ability to create for others.
Weaknesses
Malik Monk will make his money as a scoring guard in the NBA. The problem with being a scoring guard in the NBA, however, is fitting next to the other guard on the floor.
At Duke, Monk played primarily off the ball at shooting guard. The problem, of course, is Monk is listed at 6’4” – definitely undersized for a traditional shooting guard. He will have difficulty defending other larger guards.
And while Monk can generate amazing results for himself on offense, he isn’t a traditional playmaker. He isn’t great at setting up offense for teammates, and doesn’t show great vision or decision-making beyond creating his own shot.
Monk is pretty fantastic at creating his own shot, however. It can be a headache drafting a position-less guard, but sometimes it works out well; Lou Williams is having a pretty good year.
What the Experts Say
(as of 4/5/17)
Draft Express (Jonathan Givony): 5th
ESPN (Chad Ford): 7th
CBS (Howard Megdal): 8th
Sporting News (Sam Vecenie): 7th
The Step Back (Trevor Magnotti and Chris Stone): 8th
Quotes:
Chad Ford of ESPN is wary of Monk’s lack of versatility in an offensive sense, but has no questions over Monk’s ability to score.
"“He’s one-dimensional, which I think probably affects his statistical projection, but Monk can score from everywhere. He’s shooting 74 percent at the rim and 49 percent on his 2-point jumpers. He’s possibly the best athlete in the draft as well.”"
Kevin Pelton of ESPN is optimistic about Monk’s chances of not only being a volume scorer as a pro, but an efficient one too.
"“As compared to the other top prospects, Monk figures to be a more efficient scorer even with his projected 3-point percentage regressed heavily to the mean (35.0 percent). The effective shooting inside the arc you mention helps offset that, and rebounding is Monk’s only huge weakness statistically.”"
Fit with the Bucks
Is Malik Monk the Bucks point guard of the future? Probably not. But wouldn’t that be great?
Think about it – Malik Monk’s lack of ball-handling skills can be hidden by Giannis’ super-human point guard powers. And Monk would make up the scoring when playing in second-unit lineups alongside Brogdon or Dellavedova.
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Monk and Jabari could take turns draining midrange jumpers and three-pointers, and in the second half, Giannis could join them for an in-game, fast break dunk contest.
So yes, he seems like a perfect fit.
That said, he seems like a perfect fit for most teams; including Philadelphia, who have often been projected to draft him.
Because he looks to be an instant NBA-scorer, Monk is a likely top-5 pick, so the chance that the Bucks land him without giving up some piece of their core or the rights to their draft picks for the next decade is unlikely.
Next: NBA Draft 2017 Prospect Watch: Frank Ntilikina
Sorry, folks, but it would take a dramatic turn of events for Monk to land in Milwaukee.