Malik Monk’s ascension this season from castaway in Charlotte to valuable role player in Los Angeles has been not only one of the only positives of the season for the Lakers, it’s one of the only good stories they’ve had, period. Monk came into the season as a veteran’s minimum signing looking to earn a more permanent landing spot after a tumultuous ending with the Hornets, but he’s going to leave the season having earned a hefty pay raise in free agency this summer.
This season, Monk is averaging a career-high 13.4 points per game while shooting 47.