NBA Free Agency: Magic Can Afford Monk If He Leaves Sacramento

ORLANDO— Come June 30, Malik Monk will be one of the NBA's most desirable free agents — and the Orlando Magic could be one of his suitors — unless Monk and the Sacramento Kings agree on a new contract.

The Kings are limited to offering Monk a four-year $78 million contract, but he could command a contract north of $100 million if he hits the open market. The Magic, who have the cap space and the desirability of a playoff-ready roster, could potentially make the numbers work.

Monk is close with former Kentucky teammate De’Aaron Fox, the Kings' star point guard, and has been public about enjoying his time playing with Sacramento. But he also has acknowledged that he finds himself in a complex situation as a free agent.

“I can go somewhere else with a lot more money and be in a worse situation. So, you never know,” Monk said in his exit interview. “I have a great agent that’s going to do his job. I think my job is done. I did what I needed to do this year, and it’s going to play out. I think it’s going to play out in the right way.”

Monk is one of the league’s top scorers off the bench. He’s had five games of 30-plus points as a sixth man. It’s tempting to imagine Monk, still just 26 years old, spending the next four or so seasons playing in Orlando with Paolo Banchero, Franz Wagner, and Jalen Suggs, who are all 23 or younger.

Last season, the Magic struggled to score, averaging the fifth-fewest points in the league at 109.4 per game. Oddly enough, Orlando’s reserves finished with the fourth-most bench points scored. The Indiana Pacers, Utah Jazz, and Golden State Warriors, who finished above Orlando, all teams that finished in the top 10 in overall points per game.

Monk finished in the top five in Sixth Man of the Year voting each of the past two seasons while averaging 14.4 points on 44.6 percent shooting from the field and 4.5 assists.

By adding Monk to the starting lineup, the Magic could significantly improve their scoring and, specifically, their outside shooting.

"The 26-year-old looked like he found a home in Sacramento, as he averaged a career-high 15.4 points and 5.1 assists in just 26 minutes off the bench, finishing second in Sixth Man of the Year voting," Bleacher Report writes. "The Orlando Magic can get all the way to $66.6 million in cap space if they wanted to and could offer Monk the starting two-guard spot next to Jalen Suggs."

In Monk’s lone playoff appearance in 2022-23 with the Kings, he averaged 29 minutes, 19 points, five rebounds, and four assists per game. For context, those numbers would have placed Monk as Orlando's second-leading scorer in the playoffs while averaging nearly 15 points more than starting shooting guard Gary Harris.

NBA teams can begin negotiating with free agents on June 30 at 6 p.m. ET.

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