Many around the NBA world are relatively baffled by the Sacramento Kings. Since the surprising and entertaining 2022-23 season in which the Kings won 48 games and broke a lengthy playoff drought, the organization has made some confusing decisions. To be fair, Sacramento hasn't been bad on the court since then, but the Kings are now mired in the NBA middle with no clear direction.
This summer brought more confusion, including a significant investment in Dennis Schroder that created even more questions. In fact, there has been buzz that Sacramento could be looking to make more moves in the backcourt, and Matt George of Locked On Hawks and ABC10 reports the Kings "are still looking to move a player like Devin Carter or Malik Monk before they can bring (Russell) Westbrook in."
For a team in Sacramento's position, making that sequence of moves would be more than a bit strange. Westbrook still has some juice, but he is clearly in the twilight of his career and, quite obviously, Malik Monk is a (significantly) better player at this juncture. Monk is also on a good contract that other teams would value, which leads to speculation on which teams could potentially swoop in and add him to the mix this summer.
In this space, we'll identify three teams that could make sense for Monk in the coming days, keeping in mind that trades are difficult to construct and, of course, it takes two sides to tango.
Miami Heat
Aren't the Heat always lurking in these situations? Miami is in an interesting position with a pretty uninspiring ceiling with its current roster. However, the Heat do have some movable pieces, and Miami has a clear need for another shot creator that can flank Tyler Herro. Monk and Herro are not perfect together, but each has enough on-ball juice and off-ball shooting to make the pairing potentially viable. The Heat might want to aim higher eventually, but Monk's contract is good enough where they could flip it later.
Golden State Warriors
At first blush, Golden State probably isn't the ideal Monk team. They've got Brandin Podziemski and Buddy Hield, both of whom occupy the same (relative) position as Monk, and the Warriors are also heavily tied to De'Anthony Melton. With that said, Sacramento is reportedly interested in Jonathan Kuminga, and perhaps there is a swap involving Monk that could make sense. The Warriors have long had a void of on-ball creation juice aside from Steph Curry and Jimmy Butler, and Monk could fit that bill while being able to play with them as well.
Milwaukee Bucks
Milwaukee's roster is in an interesting place after the addition of Myles Turner, and all signs point to the Bucks aiming to win in the short term, in part to appease Giannis Antetokounmpo. Monk would immediately be the best guard on Milwaukee's roster, and that is the central reason the Bucks are on this list. Milwaukee has some variations of matching salary that could make it work but, more than anything, they would be near the top of the list of teams that are both trying to win and also in clear need of perimeter offensive juice that Monk can provide.