Malik Monk proved to be the best player the Los Angeles Lakers signed in the previous offseason as the shooting guard dazzled with his ability to score the basketball.
Monk surprisingly did not get many offers in free agency, signing a one-year deal with the Lakers that looks silly in hindsight now. Monk will surely get his fair share of offers during this free agency period, but he has already revealed that money will not be the primary factor in his decision.
The young guard should be proud of betting on himself and excelling, but he admitted he has had trouble giving himself credit because of how difficult the year was for him.
“I was trying to today until I had these media and exit interviews,” Monk said. “But yeah, I’ll go back home today and really just review and see how the year went and just really reflect on it and pat myself on the back cause it was definitely a hard year for me. Hard summer too, so I’ll do that after this.”
While it certainly had to feel bittersweet for Monk to have a career year amidst the Lakers’ struggles, he said the presence and support of all the veterans helped him keep his head up.
“Just knowing I had an organization behind me that made me way more comfortable to go do things like that. It’s hard to be down when you have ‘Bron on your team. Russ, AD, Dwight Melo, all these vets that had not-so-good years and they know how to deal with things like that. It wasn’t that hard for me cause I got a lot of support from those guys.”
Monk has spoken at length about how he appreciates the Laker organization for giving him an opportunity, so that combined with the stars on the team makes it seem like he would choose to re-sign with them assuming their offer is close to market value. Even though he may have trouble patting himself on the back, he should be proud of what he accomplished as he truly looks like someone who can stick in the league for a long time.
Malik Monk believes he became more mature during 2021-22 season
The 24-year-old said he is happy with how he played during the year, but when asked about the biggest improvement he saw, he cited his maturity as a player and as a person. That kind of self-awareness is refreshing to hear and a sign that his head is in the right place.
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