The Sacramento Kings’ rotations have been inconsistent all season, largely due to their unfortunate number of injuries. Yet, there’s been a rotation spot battle between Keon Ellis and Malik Monk, both of whom have been available for most games.
Most recently, Monk has been on the outside looking in. The 27-year-old was a healthy scratch in the last three games. Ellis logged two DNP-CDs earlier in the season, along with seven instances of fewer than 10 minutes.
Sacramento head coach Doug Christie has often referenced the “logjam” at the guard position on his roster, with Monk, Ellis, Russell Westbrook, Dennis Schroder, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, and rookie Nique Clifford.
Westbrook and Schroder were offseason acquisitions by general manager Scott Perry, which left the roster imbalanced—perhaps they were banking on being able to make trades as well. Jonthan Kuminga, maybe?
Before even reaching the Monk and Ellis part of the rotation, DeRozan and LaVine are each playing 33.1 minutes per night. Westbrook averages 29.1 minutes while Schroder sits at 27.5. That’s already four guards playing heavy minutes, which has forced the Kings to play plenty of three-guard lineups, or even four.
In the games where Monk didn’t appear, Ellis was given significantly more run.
“We will see Malik,” Christie said when asked if he considers plugging the offensive spark plug back in.
“As I said earlier, we’re giving Keon a run. It’s going to be in and out a little bit. But the point is, I love Malik. He’s one of my favorites, just talking about as a person. On the floor, coaching, all that different stuff, we make decisions to try to find our way, but we’ll see him for sure.”
For a team that’s dead last in offensive rating (108.0), benching one of your best offensive weapons, who averaged 17.2 points, 5.6 assists, and 3.8 rebounds last season, seems questionable. Similar confusion was pointed towards Christie earlier in the season as Ellis watched from the bench. It’s a challenging rotation to figure out, but Christie’s made it clear that he’s focused on improving the defensive end of the floor — while not ignoring offensive questions.
When asked if benching Monk was a defensive decision, the Kings’ head coach drew out his response before rejecting it, “Uhh, no.”
“For us, defense is everything, so we need to make sure that we’re locking up. And I know when it comes to the defensive ratings and all these different things, Keon has been really good on the defensive end in some areas. … (like) off-ball,” Christie continued. “I talked to him about squaring up and making sure (to) keep the guy in front of him, but getting steals and different things like that. He has been great. So that’s a yes and no answer, because there isn’t really a thing. It was just more of a choice that, you know, we went in one direction for a little bit. Now we’re going to give Keon an opportunity.”
Sacramento has a 119.2 defensive rating with Ellis off the court, compared to 116.7 with him on the court. That on-court defensive rating for the Kings trails only Dylan Cardwell, Precious Achiuwa, Nique Clifford, and… Malik Monk.
Now, it’s obvious that Ellis is a notably better defender than Monk. The same is true in reverse: Monk’s creation and playmaking surpass Ellis’s, but with plenty of other on-ball creators, it may make more sense to favor the defensive guard.
But owning the worst offense in the NBA, a larger shake-up feels like it should be under consideration. In his last moments of action, Monk was committing tough-to-watch turnovers, but the importance of rhythm can’t be understated.
With the trade deadline exactly one month away, a few moves could help the roster logjam, as Christie would say.
Not playing one of the more talented offensive players on the roster, who lacks spacing and reliable paint touches, is a head-scratcher — but based on Christie’s comments after Thursday’s practice, we’ve yet to see the last of Monk in the rotation.
More Sacramento Kings coverage on Sactown Sports
With less than one month to go until the NBA trade deadline, are the Sacramento Kings any closer to making some moves? Does the Trae Young trade speak to Malik Monk’s potential trade value around the NBA?
The Athletic‘s Sam Amick joined The Carmichael Dave Show with Jason Ross on Thursday to share his intel on where things stand on Jonathan Kuminga trade conversations, Rich Paul’s recent clients on De’Aaron Fox not wanting to leave Sacramento, and more.
“I think the interest is still there,” Amick said regarding the Kings and Kuminga. “They just talked last week. They plan on circling back. The Warriors are in a tough spot.”
In his last 13 games of availability, Kuminga has recorded a DNP-CD on 12 occasions, with the one exception featuring less than 10 minutes of action.
Read More:
Sam Amick: Kings “appear to be number one suitor” for Kuminga
Upcoming Sacramento Kings schedule for the 2025-26 season
Friday, January 9th – @ Golden State Warriors – 7:00 PM PT
Sunday, January 11th – vs. Houston Rockets – 6:00 PM PT
Monday, January 12th – vs. Los Angeles Lakers – 7:00 PM PT
Wednesday, January 14th – vs. New York Knicks – 7:00 PM PT
Friday, January 16th – vs. Washington Wizards – 7:00 PM PT
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