Report: Malik Monk Thought He Was Going To Be Drafted By Knicks
Ryan Mayer
The Knicks brought in a variety of guard prospects for workouts and meetings prior to the draft when they decided to select French guard Frank Ntilikina with the eighth overall pick. That selection was a surprise to many, especially considering that Kentucky guard Malik Monk was still available when the Knicks went on the clock. Monk himself was among those who were surprised by the Knicks decision according to a new report by Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News:
"Me, my agent, everybody in my agency, my family -- we thought we were going to New York," Monk told the Daily News last week after a posing for his Panini trading card. "It was here, my agent is here (based in New York), a great agent, everybody thought it was going to be here. Went to dinner with (Jackson), had a great workout, everything was positive."
"They told me I was a shooter, a great shooter," Monk said of his feedback from the Knicks. "They were just really trying to tell me to learn how to work off the triangle. They were trying to teach me concepts about the triangle."
Monk had reason to be surprised if what he says about the Knicks feedback is true. They are the only team in the NBA running the concepts of the triangle, so telling Monk to learn those concepts would seem to indicate they wanted to bring him in. Regardless, the Knicks have who they hope is their point guard of the future in Ntilikina and Monk joins a Hornets squad looking for a scorer to pair with Kemba Walker. If Monk is looking to prove the Knicks wrong, he'll have to wait until November 7th, when the two teams meet in Madison Square Garden.