Malik Monk is coming after Jeremy Lamb’s starting job as the Charlotte Hornets’ shooting guard.
That might not happen the rest of this season, but Monk’s progress is important for reasons that go beyond the obvious. Lamb becomes an unrestricted free agent in July, and I’m guessing the odds are no better than 50-50 he’ll be back with the Hornets. So Monk’s rapid improvement of late, and the impression it has left on coach James Borrego, feels consequential.
“The kid is turning the corner, and I don’t want to see him satisfied with this,” Borrego said after Monk scored 18 points — 14 of those in the fourth quarter — of Saturday’s home victory over the Chicago Bulls.