Malik Monk has gone from being an NBA Sixth Man of the Year candidate to being a fringe player this season for the Sacramento Kings. Most recently, the 27-year-old combo guard has received three consecutive DNP-CDs, despite being injury-free, and has not breached the 20-minute mark since mid-December.
In the games where Monk didn’t play, Keon Ellis noticeably received more playing time. During a recent interview with Brenden Nunes of Sactown Sports, Sacramento Kings head coach Doug Christie explained why this is the case.
“As I said earlier, we’re giving Keon a run. It’s going to be in and out a little bit. But the point is, I love Malik. He’s one of my favorites, just talking about as a person. On the floor, coaching, all that different stuff, we make decisions to try to find our way, but we’ll see him for sure,” Christie explained.
“I know when it comes to the defensive ratings and all these different things, Keon has been really good on the defensive end in some areas… (like) off-ball,” he continued. “I talked to him about squaring up and making sure (to) keep the guy in front of him, but getting steals and different things like that. He has been great. So that’s a yes-and-no answer, because there isn’t really a thing. It was just more of a choice that, you know, we went in one direction for a little bit.”
Sacramento Kings “remain interested” in Jonathan Kuminga trade, claims insider
The Sacramento Kings have been linked to numerous trade rumors lately, including being named one of the top suitors for Jonathan Kuminga, whose playing time has dwindled with the Golden State Warriors this campaign.
“I think the interest is still there,” The Athletic’s Sam Amick said on The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross on Thursday. “They just talked last week. They plan on circling back. The Warriors are in a tough spot.”
“I don’t know what percentage I would put on it, but never say never, in terms of him not getting traded, just because the, you know, I think if there’s nothing of substance coming the Warriors’ way in return, I wonder if Joe Lacob might be stubborn about it,” he added. “But I would certainly handicap that he gets moved somewhere, because his presence has created some tension around the team. And I think it would be healthier for them to move on.”
