Malik Monk ‘definitely’ wants to stay with Sacramento Kings. They might lose him anyway

When Malik Monk wore a Band-Aid on his cheek after scratching his face in a November 2022 game against the Golden State Warriors, thousands of fans showed up at Golden 1 Center wearing Band-Aids in a show of solidarity.

De’Aaron Fox, Monk’s childhood friend and former Kentucky teammate, joked that he hated the Band-Aid movement while Fox’s wife, Recee, helped organize the Band-Aid Brigade on social media. Monk has enjoyed one of the great love affairs with Kings fans during his time in Sacramento, but the relationship could be coming to an end as the 26-year-old guard enters the offseason as an unrestricted free agent.

The Kings want Monk to stay. All things being equal, Monk said he would “definitely” want to remain in Sacramento, but other teams can offer more money and Monk has earned a big payday following the best year of his career. Monk said he felt mixed emotions when he met with the media during exit interviews Monday, three days after the Kings suffered a season-ending 105-98 loss to the New Orleans Pelicans in a play-in elimination game at Smoothie King Center.

“Emotions are everywhere,” said Monk, one of three finalists for the Sixth Man of the Year award. “I came here, (played with) one of my best friends, turned the organization round, turned the city around. The city loves me and I love the city, so the emotions are everywhere right now.”

Monk came to Sacramento on a two-year, $19.4 million contract in the summer of 2022. Under the collective bargaining agreement, the Kings hold early Bird rights to Monk, but full Bird rights are reserved for players who have spent at least three seasons with one club without changing teams as a free agent.

Players with full Bird rights can receive maximum-salary contracts up to five years. The most a team can offer an early Bird free agent without using cap space is 175% of his previous salary or 105% of the average league salary with 8% annual raises. The Kings can offer Monk about $78 million over four years using his early Bird rights, but he could command well over $20 million per year from other teams that are free to offer more money.

Monk gave the Kings and their fans a sliver of hope when asked about weighing his options against the relationships he has formed and the success he has achieved in Sacramento.

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

Some of Monk’s teammates have tried to convince him to stay.

“I’ve tried every day since the beginning of training camp,” Kings center Domantas Sabonis said. “Obviously, he knows what I think about him and how much I care about him, so, yeah, we would love to have him back.”

Monk averaged career highs of 15.4 points and 5.1 assists this season before suffering a right MCL sprain in a March 29 game against the Dallas Mavericks. The Kings lost six of their last 10 games to finish ninth in the Western Conference.

Sabonis said Monk’s absence will be felt off the court as well if he leaves.

“With Malik, it’s not even on the court,” Sabonis said. “It’s everything he does off the court. He keeps us together. He always has every guy with a smile on their face and kind of has that off-court vibe. Every team is looking for a guy like that on the team and he definitely brings that with this group where we have a couple of more quiet guys.”

One of those guys is second-year forward Keegan Murray, who talked about his relationship with Monk on Monday.

“He’s been one of my closest friends, too, just being able to joke around with him because he always keeps it lighthearted,” Murray said. “Last summer, I went golfing with him a lot, so we kind of built that bond on the course. ... Obviously, he’s got a decision to make this summer, and he knows what’s right for him. Whatever he decides to choose, I’ll have his back no matter what.”

Kings guard Kevin Huerter agreed.

“Everybody knows the situation,” Huerter said. “We all love him around here. He’s great for the organization. He’s a big voice in the locker room. He’s really everybody’s best friend on the team, but it’s a business. We all know that. It’s a business and we all know the situation here. ... We hope it works out, but it’s a business and you’ve got to respect him for wanting to get paid.”