Before Charlotte Hornets coach James Borrego told Malik Monk what Borrego needed, Borrego asked Monk what he needed.
That started a valuable dialogue.
“I knew he trusted me from the beginning,” Monk told the Observer Thursday. “Ever since then, he’s going to tell me (difficult truths). If I’m being lazy, he’s going to let me know right away. If I’m not giving 100 percent, he’s going to let me know right away.
“That’s how, with a player-coach relationship, it needs to be for me to get better. And if we want to win, too.”
Monk’s productivity of late is impressive.