The Sacramento Kings have spent most of this offseason in relative calm, and that silence has made one name stand out even more: Malik Monk.
While the front office has worked on the draft, two-way deals and the back end of the roster, the bigger veteran moves have largely been left alone. The Kings are still linked to point guard options like Victor Oladipo and Ben Simmons, but beyond that, the major work appears finished. That leaves the returning veterans in place, including Monk, whose situation feels strangely unresolved.
Monk still has two years on his contract, with $20.2 million due next season and a $21.6 million player option for 2027-28. At the time he signed it, the deal looked like a strong one for a former Sixth Man of the Year runner-up. Since then, though, the league’s money picture has changed fast, and that contract now looks heavier than it once did.
That makes the lack of noise around Monk this summer notable. He was part of plenty of Kings trade chatter last offseason and again at the deadline, yet this time his name has barely surfaced.
That’s especially interesting because Sacramento doesn’t seem to have a clean long-term lane for him. The team drafted both Darius Acuff Jr. and Emanuel Sharp, and it is still looking for another point guard to support them.
Monk could fit that backup role. He has done plenty of work as the Kings’ reserve combo guard over the years. But for whatever reason, Scott Perry and Doug Christie seem reluctant to hand that job back to him.
There’s also more crowding on the wing. Zach LaVine is still on the roster, and Nique Clifford is expected to take on a bigger role. That puts even more pressure on the shooting guard minutes and leaves Monk in danger of sliding to the outside again, just as he did at times last season when his rotation spot came and went.
That would be a tough outcome with two years left on the deal. It would also chip away at whatever trade value remains for a player who has been a fan favorite in Sacramento. Monk, like Sabonis and LaVine, can feel like one of the pieces left over from Monte McNair’s era.
If Monk is going to force his way back into a bigger role, the path is clear: keep the three-ball falling. Sacramento needs more shooting, both in volume and efficiency, and Monk delivered the second-best three-point season of his career last year, hitting 39.5% of his attempts on 5.1 tries per game. If he can do that again, he gives himself a real chance to crack the rotation and maybe even become a trade-deadline target because he can score and facilitate off the bench.
For a team with plenty of questions already, Monk’s status almost gets lost in the shuffle. It probably shouldn’t.
His role is one of the biggest swing points on the roster heading into the 2026-27 season. If he rediscovers that sixth-man spark, it could matter a lot for Sacramento - whether that means restoring his value or helping the Kings surprise people.
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Domantas Sabonis Rumor Puts Kings Fans On Edge This Offseason
Domantas Sabonis has given Sacramento plenty to think about this offseason, even before the Kings get deep into roster-building. Brian Windhorst raised the possibility that the All-Star center could eventually ask out, pointing to Sabonis recent switch to Aaron Mintz of CAA as one more sign that people around the league are watching the situation closely.
Sabonis has already been part of trade chatter before, including a rumored framework involving Charlotte that never came together. For the Kings, the concern is not just the noise but the context: since arriving in 2022, he has dealt with injuries and just put up career-low numbers in the most recent season, which only adds to the uncertainty around one of the franchises most important players. [Read more 🡒]
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Scott Perrys arrival as the Kings general manager has been viewed as a meaningful step for a franchise trying to steady itself, and the rebuild has at least given Sacramento a clearer direction than it has had in years. Perry now has the task of shaping the roster and guiding the next phase, with the hope that a more disciplined front office can finally give the team some long-term footing.
Vivek Ranadive, though, remains the part of the equation that keeps many fans uneasy. He has been the Kings managing co-owner and chairman since 2013, and his reputation for a hands-on, micromanaging style has long fueled questions about how much control the basketball side can really have. For a rebuild to stick, Sacramento needs more than a new plan - it needs that plan to be left alone long enough to work. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Fans Suddenly Have A Serious Sabonis Problem
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There have already been trade discussions involving Eastern Conference teams, which is enough to keep the temperature up around a situation that had seemed more stable not long ago. Sabonis is still on the roster for now, but the sense around the league is that his future in Sacramento may be approaching a decision point sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]