As Worry Floats Over Heated Exchange, Malik Monk Breaks Silence To Coddle Sacramento Fans: “Don’t Think About That”

The Sacramento Kings narrowly missed lighting the beam as they won 109-107 over the Orlando Magic. With tonight’s loss, Sacramento snapped the five-game streak the Magic were on. But what caught the eyes of the Kings fans was the heated exchange between Malik Monk and coach Mike Brown in the fourth quarter.

Of course, every ‘Beam Team’ enthusiasts know that this is not the first time the two have gone at it. That doesn’t mean it isn’t a cause for concern, more so, with Monk’s free agency talks going around. However, the 26-year-old isn’t the least bothered about the whole incident. Talking to Sacramento Bee’s Chris Biderman, Monk said, “Tell the fans don’t think about that too much. Me and Mike do that shit all the time.”

Biderman also added, “Both Brown and Monk said this stuff is part of their dynamic and they talked it over afterwards. Brown said it never gets personal.”

Malik Monk finished the night with a rebound and five assists in 22 minutes of game time. Despite tonight’s outing, there is no argument that Monk is the Kings’ third-best player. They are 41-28 with Monk on the floor, averaging 118.0 points per game this season. Without him taking the court, the Kings go down to an average of 98.0 points.

Coming off the bench, the Kentucky product is averaging some of the best numbers of his career as well. He averages 15.0 points and 5.3 assists while dropping 5.6 buckets per game. But tonight was Keon Ellis’ time. He finished with a career-high 19 points while his three-pointer with 1:59 left on the clock put the Kings ahead 106-101. As mentioned above, a narrow miss.

“Not the first time”: Brown on his dynamic relationship with Malik Monk

The most recent altercation between the coach and the player happened in the Kings’ terrible loss to a shorthanded Hornets team on January 2. Coach Brown and Malik Monk got the better of their nerves in the third quarter. Going up against his former team seemed to have made Monk a little wobbly as he got to a bad start. Not willing to take chances, Brown benched him for the rest of the first half, bringing him back in the third quarter.

Read More: “Shut Up”: 25-YO Kings Star Sides With Referees Amid Coaches’ Fuming Call-Outs

But a timeout from the Kings saw the two heat up. Later, Brown chalked it up to the heat of the moment. He said, “Malik and I have gotten into exchanges before. This was not the first time, and I would bet a lot of money it won’t be the last time, so that’s not a big deal.” 

Charlotte was on an 11-game skid and Sacramento ended up being “that” team on the fateful night. Their horrible free-throw shooting and a good deal of turnovers (20) made things easy for the Hornets to take advantage of the inconsistent Kings.

However, recovering with tonight’s game, the Sacramento Kings are the seventh seed in the West with a 41-29 record now. Since both Monk and Brown iterated that these verbal exchanges were part of their dynamic, there isn’t much to worry about. Wouldn’t you say? Let us know what you think in the comments below.