Few players jumped off the screen in the Los Angeles Lakers’ preseason-opening loss to the Brooklyn Nets the way Malik Monk did. He showcased the fluidity and efficiency as a scorer that makes him a fairly natural fit alongside Russell Westbrook, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. There wasn’t much defense in the game, but he was far from the worst player on that side of the court. In general, it was quite the impressive debut, all things considered.
All that said, the Lakers backcourt rotation is incredibly crowded, and a couple of the guys Monk will be competing with for bench minutes head into this season with a little more organization capital.