Monk or Ellis? Kings excited to begin shooting guard competition originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
SACRAMENTO — The biggest question hanging over the Kings as they enter training camp Tuesday is who their two starting guards will be for the 2024-25 NBA season.
If Kings coach Mike Brown and the rest of the team have made one thing clear, it’s that competition will be welcomed.
Kevin Huerter was the guy the last two seasons. This changed at the end of last season only after he suffered a season-ending injury.
Insert Keon Ellis.
From undrafted rookie to the G League to two-way player to NBA Play-In tournament starter, Ellis was the epitome of someone making the most of an opportunity and running with it. While Ellis was originally meant to be simply a “backup,” his success in the lineup now presents Brown with a difficult decision.
Are you starting Ellis, a player who, in a relatively small samplehas he proven that he not only belongs in the NBA, but can also have an impact on a team with playoff aspirations? Not to mention a team that has long aimed to improve defensively, which is where Ellis excels the most.
Or do you look at Malik Monk, who voluntarily accepted a salary reduction this summer to stay in Sacramento and build on his confidence in the team’s potential?
Huerter is still rehabbing his shoulder injury and will be re-evaluated in mid-October. But once he returns, whenever that may be, will he be able to get his job back?
Brown, although facing a difficult decision, is grateful for the options available to him and looks forward to how the competition unfolds in October.
“The first thing I’ll say is: I want the guys on my team to not only want to start, but to want to be the best,” Brown said Monday at the Kings’ media day. “You want everyone on your team to be committed to giving their best, and you want everyone to want to be at their highest level in a group. But obviously not everyone can start. So I’m glad Malik wants to start. I know his teammates are excited that he’s this type of competitor, but I also know Malik loves the team and wouldn’t do anything to disappoint his teammates, especially his best friend on the team.
“He doesn’t want to bring them down, and just as importantly, he doesn’t want to bring down the city of Sacramento. So, I know he will take on whatever role we give him while continuing to compete and push whoever is in front of him, alongside him or behind him, as we try to improve as a group.
When you ask Monk – and we did – he answers Malik Monk style.
As a reporter suggested there was a small traffic jam at the guard point, Monk interrupted: “Where?
He later made a correction, stating that he was not a shooter and simply identified himself as a “guard.”
Classic monk.
The 2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year finalist played the best basketball of the year. his seven years of professional career during his first two seasons with Sacramento. He did it in 149 games – all off the bench. It’s a role he thrived in and made his own with a dose of swagger, energy and unrivaled efficiency.
But at some point, everyone wants to get started. Especially someone as competitive as Monk. That said, as Brown mentioned, Monk is a team player and will surely be fine with whatever role the Kings need him to play.
The same goes for Ellis, who said Sacramento’s coaching staff didn’t inform him of his position in the starting job.
“Honestly, I haven’t heard anything, but I’m open to anything,” Ellis said Monday. “Whatever it is, seeing the team win and looking good, I’m definitely ready to do that.” Whether it’s as a starter or off the bench, it doesn’t matter, I’m ready for it.
The one whose work isn’t in question – star point guard De’Aaron Fox – is also eager to see how the competition plays out.
“I think competition is always a good thing for a team,” Fox said. “You go in there and you have guys fighting for a spot. And obviously, no one is going to try to hurt each other, but you get the best out of each other. You get the best out of a team when actually, you are fighting for a position.
“So I think it will be a good battle.”
