The Houston Rockets Should Try To Trade For Malik Monk

Sacramento Kings reserve Malik Monk is a 6-foot-3 shooting guard known for his heavenly 3-point touch and baptism dunks. This season, he’s averaging 11.6 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in just 21.7 minutes per game on 43.0% shooting from the field (40.5% from 3). In 2024-25, with +9.9 more minutes per game and 45 starts, Monk averaged 17.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists on 43.9% from the field (32.5% from 3); both his scoring and assists averages were career-highs.

Though he earned his reputation as a microwave scorer during his time with the Charlotte Hornets, Monk doesn’t just put up numbers on a bad team either. In 2022-23, the De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis-led Kings were taking the regular season by storm, lighting the beam every other night. That season was Monk’s first in the California capital. In 77 games, Monk averaged 13.5 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 3.9 assists in 22.3 minutes per contest on 44.8% from the field (35.9% from 3).

Reed Sheppard Is Reeling

In short, Monk is a scorer who can juice an offense even in limited minutes. That’s the role that Houston is trying to carve out for sophomore Reed Sheppard. Keeping that in mind, Sheppard is averaging 12.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 3.2 assists on 44.3% from the field and 40.9% from 3.

What’s clear, though, is that Rockets head coach Ime Udoka doesn’t especially like playing him.

Across his 39 outings, Sheppard’s averaging 25.1 minutes per game this season. Over the last 10 games, his playing time has gone down to 23.1 minutes per game. Notoriously tough and defensive-minded, Udoka doesn’t like having to protect Sheppard on defense, and is usually quick to pull him when his shot isn’t falling. With that in perspective, Sheppard is shooting 41.3% from the field and 34.5% from 3 in that span. He also recorded a plus-minus of -1.2 over the last 10.

Udoka isn’t always opposed to smaller guards in principle. In contrast, when 6-foot-nothing Fred VanVleet was available, Udoka saw to it that he led the team in minutes. Despite frequent crunch-time benchings, Udoka also played 6-foot-4 Jalen Green over 30 minutes a night as well.

How Malik Monk Could Help The Rockets

Monk’s build is slighter than Green’s, and he doesn’t have the same outer space athleticism. He’s still unquestionably explosive, though. Furthermore, none of the Kings players who are on the court more than Monk have a higher defensive rating.

Crucially, Monk can fill a role on offense that the team has been missing out on this year.

One of the Rockets’ biggest issues offensively is the lack of three-level scoring. They have plenty of players who can be threats around the basket – Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, and Tari Eason. They even have a couple of jump shooters in Sheppard and Kevin Durant. What the Rockets don’t have is anybody who starts as a threat on the perimeter and then transitions to a threat at the basket. That forces the defense to actually react and creates opportunities.

Durant theoretically could do this, but the midrange pull-up is the bread-and-butter of his game, meaning forays to the rim are less common. Jabari Smith Jr. can shoot (at least from time to time) and is big enough to finish plays around the basket. Yet, he can’t really get there because of his poor handle.

Monk would be the team’s closest thing to a new Green; a shooter that teams have to guard, but also someone who can put the ball on the floor and get to the hoop.

The Price

The Rockets would hope they could make a trade for Monk without including part of their core in return.

In that effort, they have draft picks they could attach to the contracts of Clint Capela and Dorian Finney-Smith. In need of a spark themselves, the Kings might push for a player like Sheppard or Eason instead. Nevertheless, Monk probably doesn’t move the needle enough to throw out those players’ potential development (Eason’s being the off-chance he ever stays healthy).

Luckily for Houston, the Kings are tanking Monk’s trade value with limited play. If ClutchPoints insider Brett Seigel is correct, a Minnesota Timberwolves package built around Rob Dillingham might be all they have to beat.