Sacramento Kings coach Doug Christie explains decision to bench Malik Monk
Sacramento Kings coach Doug Christie explained his decision to bench Malik Monk in the emotional aftermath of a 134-133 overtime loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Thursday at Moda Center.
Christie said Monk was the “odd man out” in a crowded guard rotation when he decided to play Keon Ellis, who has received reduced minutes this season after emerging as a key reserve and part-time starter over the past two seasons.
“We were going with defense, but it’s a logjam,” Christie said. “We’ve got a lot of guards, so whenever it was Keon being the odd man out, then it was Keon being out. Tonight, we were playing Keon, so Malik was out.”
Ellis came off the bench to post 10 points, four rebounds, three assists and a career-high-tying six steals in 32 minutes against the Blazers. Monk didn’t play at all after averaging 13.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 24.0 minutes per contest over the first 26 games.
Monk’s absence led to social media speculation that the Kings could be on the verge of a trade as general manager Scott Perry works to reshape an imbalanced roster. A source with knowledge of the situation told The Sacramento Bee the Kings do not have a trade in the works involving Monk at this time. The choice to sit Monk was described as a coaching decision.
“We’re searching,” Christie said. “So far it has not worked the way we want it to work. Now, I will say obviously we haven’t had our full deck, but the point is we’re continuing to search. We’re continuing to coach. We’re continuing to push. We’re not stopping anything that we’re doing to try to find a way to get ourselves, not only wins, but to find the ability to say this is the standard of what we’re going to do.”
Christie said he doesn’t know what Monk’s role will look like in the days and weeks to come, but he is planning to give Ellis an increased opportunity.
“Nothing is permanent,” Christie said. “Obviously, we’re going to continue to try to make it happen, but Keon played well. We’ll give Keon a run and allow him to continue to develop with those guys.
“He came in off the bench, I thought, and played fantastic with that bench unit. They did a really good job in the third quarter. It just kind of got away from us. We got stalled out a little bit, but they came back with the starters and Keon was a part of that group. ... I thought those guys did a great job.”
