The Sacramento Kings are heading into 2026-27 with a roster that looks deeper than it has in years, and Malik Monk is right in the middle of that picture.
Scott Perry may still be searching for the future star to put next to Darius Acuff Jr., but he has quietly assembled a group that could push as many as 14 players into the rotation this season. Monk is one of them.
He is also one of the four players left from Monte McNair’s version of the Kings, and his name has floated through trade rumors since Perry took over as general manager. This offseason, though, his market stayed quiet.
While Domantas Sabonis and Zach LaVine were the subjects of speculation, Monk’s name never really came up.
That leaves the fan favorite back in Sacramento for another season, where he’ll have to carve out minutes around a wave of younger players. Last year was rough across the board, but Monk still quietly knocked down 39.5% of his threes, and he may be in line for a similar bench role alongside Ben Simmons.
After the second day of practice, Monk was asked about sharing the floor with the former All-Star, and his answer suggested why the Kings may be leaning into that pairing.
"I'm used to playing whatever, any kind of basketball. But playing off the ball now, I got a lot more open shots, a lot more space. He draws a lot of attention, so I've been liking playing with him," Monk stated.
Monk also touched on how Simmons fits into the offense, and the way he described it made the role sound almost fluid from possession to possession.
"Point five, he's been playing everything. He brings the ball up, if he wants me to bring it up I'll bring it up, but most of the time, he has it. And he's guarding the four, so I'll say point four."
That kind of setup is exactly what has kept Simmons such an interesting player throughout his uneven NBA career. The Kings already seem willing to get creative with lineups built around his size and versatility.
The Monk-Simmons combination gives Sacramento two ball handlers on the floor and could open more room for Emanuel Sharp, a development plenty of Kings fans are already pushing for. Sharp has point guard size, even if he does not bring the full point guard package. There is also a defensive tradeoff in the pairing, with Simmons expected to help strengthen that end of the floor.
Monk’s numbers last season point to why the fit matters. He hit 40.8% of his wide-open threes and 45.6% of his catch-and-shoot attempts, though he averaged just 2.8 catch-and-shoot tries per game. If that volume rises, it would give the Kings a much better chance of climbing back to at least league average from deep after finishing last in the NBA last season.
Monk also said the team has been talking about the added size on the roster, the preseason opener that is less than a week away, and a message the group heard from Chris Webber. Two days into camp, Sacramento is already giving a few hints about the kind of lineup combinations it may roll out this season.
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