LeBron James Takes Shot at Hornets for Misusage of Malik Monk
A year ago, the Charlotte Hornets had a good problem - they had too many guards. LaMelo Ball, Terry Rozier, Malik Monk, and Devonte' Graham were all playing really good basketball, but there are only so many minutes to go around.
Monk appeared in 42 games last season with the Hornets and without a doubt had his best season statistically. He averaged 11.7 points per game and shot 40% from three, however, he didn't necessarily get the opportunity to really effect the game and some nights, he didn't touch the floor. It was an odd situation.
The Hornets let Monk walk in free agency this summer and he was picked up by the Los Angeles Lakers. In 34 games this season, Monk has seen a slight uptick in rebounds, assists, steals, and field goal percentage. In a recent press conference, superstar LeBron James discussed how he wanted the Lakers to go get Monk a year ago and how he thought the Hornets mishandled him.
"Me and Jason Kidd talked a lot last year and we wanted him last year. When Charlotte stopped playing him last year...or they would play him and then sit him for five or six games and they would play him again and he would have a game where he had eight or nine threes in Miami and then they would sit him and not play him. We were like, is there anyway we can snatch this guy from their roster. Through patience and through timing, we was able to get him in the summertime. It still doesn’t make sense to me how we were able to get him, but we’re happy to have him."
Although James may be right, moving on from Monk seemed like the right move. LaMelo Ball is the face of the franchise, Terry Rozier and Ish Smith bring a veteran presence, and Cody Martin has really evolved into a quality bench player. Not to mention, Kelly Oubre Jr. is playing like the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year right now. If Monk were to be on this roster, I doubt there would have been much of a role for him.
Monk and the Lakers will pay the Hornets a visit later this month on January 28th.
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