The Los Angeles Lakers are among the favorites to land Sacramento Kings guard Malik Monk.
Offshore sportsbook Bovada gave the Lakers the second-best odds at +300 behind the Golden State Warriors (+250).
Rounding up the short betting list are the Detroit Pistons (+500), Toronto Raptors (+650), Dallas Mavericks (+750) and Milwaukee Bucks (+2000).
Monk is entering Year 2 of his four-year, $78 million extension with the Kings. He was the runner-up to Minnesota Timberwolves center Naz Reid for the Sixth Man of the Year award in the 2023-24 season.
Monk averaged a career-high 17.2 points last season as he stepped into the Kings’ starting lineup following De’Aaron Fox‘s departure to the San Antonio Spurs. The former Kentucky Wildcat made 2.1 3-pointers per game over his last two seasons in Sacramento.
Getty Will the Lakers bringMalik Monk back?
Monk played for the Lakers during the 2021-22 season, averaging 13.8 points. But the Lakers were unable to bring him back because of financial constraints. He chose the Kings to be reunited with Fox. But with Fox gone, Monk could be the next to go.
Malik Monk Available in Trade Market
Monk is on the trade block.
NBA insider Jake Fischer previously reported that Monk was expected earlier to go to Detroit in a sign-and-trade with one-time Warriors Dennis Schroder. However, the Kings just directly signed Schroder to become their starting point guard while the Pistons moved on, signing Duncan Robinson to a free agent deal.
Then, the Kings dangled Monk again, in addition to a lottery-protected first-round pick, to the Warriors in their latest bid to acquire restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga. But the Warriors want the Kings to lift the lottery protection on the pick.
The Lakers still have one first-round pick available to trade, Dalton Knecht and over $40 million in expiring salaries minus Austin Reaves, who is close to untouchable. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers will only move Reaves for a star to pair with Luka Doncic.
Luka Warns Lakers Ahead of Extension Decision
Doncic sent a fair warning to the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of the biggest decision of his NBA career.
The Slovenian star is eligible to sign a lucrative extension with the Lakers beginning this Saturday, Aug. 2.
“This isn’t signing away to the Lakers and saying, ‘OK, you have my commitment and I’ll have some patience here,’” ESPN’s Dave McMenamin said on “NBA Today” on July 29. “It’s ‘I want to win this year, I want to win the subsequent year. So long as my name is signed to a piece of paper saying I am a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, I expect to be in a position to raise banners at the Crypto.com Arena.’”
It was the same ultimatum that LeBron James tried to send to the Lakers when he picked up his $52.6 million player option.
“LeBron wants to compete for a championship,” Paul told ESPN’s Shams Charania in June. “He knows the Lakers are building for the future. He understands that, but he values a realistic chance of winning it all. We are very appreciative of the partnership that we’ve had for eight years with Jeanie [Buss] and Rob [Pelinka] and consider the Lakers as a critical part of his career.”
Getting Monk will solidify the Lakers’ rotation in their bid to compete for a championship, especially in a loaded Western Conference.
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