Monk or Ellis? The Kings are looking forward to the start of the shooting guard competition

Monk or Ellis? Kings excited to start shooting guard competition originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SACRAMENTO – The biggest question facing the Kings as they begin training camp on Tuesday is who their starting two guards will be for the 2024-25 NBA season.

If Kings coach Mike Brown and the rest of the team make one thing clear, it’s that the competition will be a welcome sight.

Kevin Huerter has been that guy for the last two seasons. That only changed at the end of last season when he suffered a season-ending injury.

Insert Keon Ellis.

From undrafted rookie to the G League, then from two-way player to NBA Play-In Tournament starter, Ellis was the epitome of making the most of an opportunity and taking advantage of it. While Ellis was originally intended to be a backup player, his success in the lineup now presents Brown with a difficult decision.

Start with Ellis, a player who has proven in a relatively small sample that he not only belongs in the NBA but can have an impact on the victory of a team with playoff aspirations? Not to mention a team that has long been looking to improve on defense, which is where Ellis shines the most.

Or look at Malik Monk, who willingly took a pay cut this summer to stay in Sacramento and build on his belief in the team’s potential?

Huerter is still rehabilitating his shoulder injury and will be re-evaluated in mid-October. But once he’s back, whenever that may be, is there an option for him to reclaim his position?

Although Brown faces a difficult decision, he is grateful for the options he has and looks forward to how the competition unfolds in October.

“The first thing I want to say is this: I want the guys on my team to not only want to start, but to want to be the best,” Brown said Monday at Kings media day. “You want everyone on your team to be committed to doing their best, and you want everyone in a group to want to achieve their highest level. But of course not everyone can start. So I’m happy that Malik wants to start. I know his teammates are excited that he is such a competitor, but I also know that Malik cares about the team and he wouldn’t do anything to disappoint his teammates, especially his best friend on the team.

“He doesn’t want to overthrow them, and just as important, he doesn’t want to overthrow the city of Sacramento. So I know he will embrace whatever role we give him as he continues to compete and push whoever is in front of him, next to him or behind him as we try to get better as a group.”

If you ask Monk – and we did – he answers in true Malik Monk fashion.

When a reporter suggested that there was some blockage at the two-guard location, Monk interrupted: “Where?”

He then made a correction and explained that he was not a shooting guard, but simply referred to himself as a “guard.”

Classic monk.

The 2023-24 NBA Sixth Man of the Year runner-up played the best basketball of his seven-year professional career in his first two seasons with Sacramento. He achieved this in 149 games – all without being substituted. It is a role in which he has thrived and embraced it with an unparalleled level of confidence, energy and effectiveness.

But at some point everyone wants to start doing it. Especially someone as competitive as Monk. However, as Brown mentioned, Monk is a team player and will certainly be fine with whatever role the Kings ask of him.

The same goes for Ellis, who said Sacramento’s coaching staff hasn’t informed him about where he might be with the starting job.

“I honestly haven’t heard anything yet, but I’m open to anything,” Ellis said Monday. “Whatever it means for the team to win and look good, I’m definitely up for it. Whether it’s in the starting lineup or off the bench, whatever, I’m ready for it.”

The guy whose job isn’t in question – star point guard De’Aaron Fox – is also excited to see how the competition develops.

“I think competition is always great for a team,” Fox said. “You go in and there are people fighting for a spot. And of course no one out there is going to try to hurt each other, but you bring out the best in each other. You get the best out of a team when you actually fight for a position.

“So I think it’ll be a good fight.”

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