Monk emotionally reflects on Kings tenure before possible departure.
SACRAMENTO – Twelve Kings players spoke to the media during end-of-season exit interviews Monday morning, but much of the two and a half hours inside Golden 1 Center was about one guy.
Malik Monk’s future has and will continue to be a trending topic in Sacramento and throughout the rest of the NBA this offseason as the star sixth man is set to enter free agency this summer, with many expecting him to land the richest contract of his professional career thus far.
Monk was the fifth player to come out to the podium, but by then, his name had already been tossed around a handful of times before he even stepped foot into the room.
When it finally was his turn to speak to reporters, his tone and responses were slightly different than they had been in previous press conferences. Even just as a teammate and person, Monk has been described as outgoing, witty, outspoken and blunt. His directness was perfectly portrayed by the way he harmlessly interrupted a reporter’s question.
Not on Monday, though.
When Sacramento’s season ended with a loss to the New Orleans Pelicans in the NBA Play-In Tournament, Monk was seen sitting on the bench for several moments after the game just soaking in the season. Three days later, he was asked about that moment.
“Let go of the season because it was over,” Monk said. “Figure out what I’m going to do going forward. Just trying to let go. Decompress.”
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It was much harder for Monk to hide his emotions after the question that followed.
The reporter asked: “What was the level of disappointment as you sat there realizing that you potentially played your last game in Sacramento?”
What followed was something that we haven’t experienced from Monk often, or at all.
Nearly six seconds of silence before he was able to find the right words to respond.
“Um, hard to grasp,” Monk said. “I think that’s why I was sitting there a little longer. [Kings assistant coach Doug Christie] helped me back to the locker room, like, ‘C’mon.’ But yeah, it was kind of …”
Monk paused again, then uttered that last word.
“Bittersweet,” he said.
The “bitter” part of that likely stems from the fact that he had to watch Sacramento’s season end from the sideline after sustaining an MCL sprain against the Dallas Mavericks on March 29. A game that, without knowing at the time, might have been his last in a Kings uniform.
A guess for the “sweet” side of things is that he played the best basketball of his career during his two seasons with the Kings, which will help his big payday this summer.
Nonetheless, it certainly will be a difficult decision for Monk, and the emotions of it all appeared prevalent Monday morning.
But when confronted about being emotional, Monk downplayed it.
“I just woke up,” he said. “I’m kind of tired.”
The room filled with laughter as he smiled. That’s the Monk we know. But then he acknowledged the truth.
“Yeah, emotions are everywhere, man,” he said. “I came here with one of my best friends, turned the organization around, turned the city around. The city loves me, and I said it before, I love the city. So yeah, the emotions are just everywhere right now.”
Monk has some time to weigh his options, but as of Monday, he said he doesn’t know what to expect and doesn’t have a true sense of how it’ll all play out. That mainly is because this is a new position he’s in. For the first time in his career, he’s coming off consecutive impactful seasons and has the potential to not only get his bag, but, for the first time in his career, be a starter on an NBA team.
While there’s a lot of uncertainty and pressure looming, Monk admitted that “it feels good” to be in the position he’s in after having the start to his career that he did – going from questioning if he belonged in the NBA to one of the hottest free-agent commodities this summer.
“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. “Like I said, I got 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 I think it’s going to play out the right way.”
Monk frankly stated that he “definitely” wants to start on a team next season but added that if “it’s not fit” for the team for him to start, then he’ll accept his role off the bench and “run with it.”
If you ask his teammates, it isn’t even a question – they all want him back in Sacramento next season.
