{"id":156360,"date":"2025-08-25T11:57:54","date_gmt":"2025-08-25T15:57:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=156360"},"modified":"2025-08-25T11:57:54","modified_gmt":"2025-08-25T15:57:54","slug":"kings-backtrack-after-malik-monk-backlash-to-save-face","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/08\/25\/kings-backtrack-after-malik-monk-backlash-to-save-face\/","title":{"rendered":"Kings Backtrack After Malik Monk Backlash To Save Face"},"content":{"rendered":"

SACRAMENTO, CA \u2014 Fans of the Sacramento Kings<\/a> have seen this movie before. A short-lived burst of optimism, followed by self-inflicted wounds. The latest episode? A botched handling of Malik Monk<\/a> that once again leaves the organization looking like it never learns.<\/p>\n

Kings Backtrack After Malik Monk Backlash To Save Face<\/h2>\n
\"The
Jun 22, 2025; West Sacramento, California, USA; Sacramento Kings Domantas Sabonis (left) and general manager Scott Perry (right) before the start of a baseball game between the Cleveland Guardians and the Athletics at Sutter Health Park. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Lee-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tyrese Haliburton<\/a> just led the Indiana Pacers<\/a> to the NBA Finals. Sacramento drafted him and traded him after 18 months. De\u2019Aaron Fox<\/a> was shipped to San Antonio in February, despite Haliburton\u2019s fit alongside him being the reason Tyrese was traded. For a moment in 2023, it looked like the Kings had turned the corner. They finished the season as the third seed. Instead, they\u2019ve slid back to square one.<\/p>\n

The Malik Monk Fiasco<\/h3>\n

Even by Kings standards, the rumors were absurd. Reports surfaced that Sacramento considered trading Monk to clear room for Russell Westbrook<\/a>. Monk is 27, in his prime, and just averaged 17.2 points and 5.6 assists last season. Westbrook is 36, clinging to relevance.<\/p>\n

The backlash was immediate. Trading away one of the few dependable players on the roster for a declining guard? Kings fans weren\u2019t having it. According<\/a> to Marc Stein via The Stein Line<\/em>, Sacramento has since cooled on those talks. But let\u2019s be clear: they didn\u2019t deny them.<\/p>\n

Numbers Don\u2019t Lie<\/h3>\n

Monk has embraced every role asked of him. Starter, sixth man, secondary playmaker. His assist numbers doubled since his time in Charlotte and Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Why would a franchise desperate for stability even float his name in trade discussions? In today\u2019s Apron era, plenty of teams passed on Monk not because of fit, but cost. That context matters. What matters more is Sacramento\u2019s willingness to consider Westbrook as the replacement.<\/p>\n

Why Westbrook? Why Now?<\/h3>\n

Yes, Westbrook salvaged some of his reputation in Denver. But reports<\/a> from ESPN\u2019s Ramona Shelburne painted a different picture. Heated locker-room arguments. Teammates questioning his maturity. A style that wears thin over time.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s still the same player who nearly exited the league rather than accept a bench role. The same player his own agent dropped. Yet the Kings were ready to deal Monk to make space for him. With Dennis Schroder<\/a> already signed, the obsession makes even less sense.<\/p>\n

A Larger Problem<\/h3>\n

The Kings hired<\/a> Scott Perry as GM to end these reckless moves. His Knicks tenure included Jalen Brunson<\/a> and Julius Randle<\/a>\u2014moves that worked. But Sacramento still looks rudderless. The Kings’ Malik Monk rumors, whether dead or merely delayed, show decision-making hasn\u2019t improved.<\/p>\n

If ownership signs off on more blunders, then Perry\u2019s presence won\u2019t matter. Kings fans deserve better than recycled dysfunction disguised as strategy. Until leadership changes higher up, hope will keep dying in Sacramento.<\/p>\n

SACRAMENTO, CA \u2014 Fans of the Sacramento Kings have seen this movie before. A short-lived burst of optimism, followed by self-inflicted wounds. The latest episode? A botched handling of Malik Monk that once again leaves the organization looking like it never learns. Kings Backtrack After Malik Monk Backlash To Save Face Tyrese Haliburton just led […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5018,"featured_media":156378,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[62,1608,3,29],"tags":[700,4557,53,49619],"class_list":["post-156360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nba","category-basketball","category-news","category-kings","tag-malik-monk","tag-nba-offseason","tag-russell-westbrook","tag-team-ownership"],"modified_by":"Frederick Okocha","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156360","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5018"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=156360"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156360\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":156382,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/156360\/revisions\/156382"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/156378"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=156360"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=156360"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=156360"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}