Monk would be a good helper for the Lakers to keep the young guard at Los Angeles.
The Los Angeles Lakers have many players who are making too much. Kendrick Nutt has earned $5 million this season, without ever playing in any game. This is thanks to the taxpayer-funded mid-level exemption. Talen Hutton-Tucker has been re-signed by the Lakers using Early Bird Rights, making him nearly twice as rich. Russell Westbrook has a supermax extension that he signed back in his Oklahoma City days. It now makes him more than $44million. The Lakers have made none of these as significant as the player who actually makes less money this season.
This is not a case Malik Monk exceeding his contract. However, he has. Many teams will gladly take starting-caliber players for the minimum salary. Monk, who is only 24 years old, is a problem for the Lakers. They would presumably like him to stay for the long-term. It’s going to be extremely difficult for him to make more than the minimum this season.
Monk only signed a one-year contract last summer with the Lakers. After a single year, a player can become a free agent. The team does not gain Non-Bird rights on the player. These rights allow the team the ability to raise the cap in order to sign that player again, but not to pay him a 20% raise. While most players would be happy to receive a 20% raise, a 20% increase on the minimum salary is not uncommon. Monk won’t make $1.8 million this year. Monk isn’t going to be staying in Los Angeles for $2.15million that Non-Bird Rights could get him. He will be offered many times more by teams.
How can the Lakers keep Monk? They would love to have his full Bird Rights in a perfect world. A team can pay any amount they want to a player with full Bird Rights. Monk will not be able to stay in-house for three years if he receives more lucrative offers. There is a compromise.
The Lakers will keep Monk in the arena for one more season if they can earn his Early Bird Rights. This is a compromise between the Non-Bird Rights and full Bird Rights. Early Bird Rights let a team re-sign a player at 105 percent of their average salary. This figure is used to determine the non taxpayer mid-level exception. Monk would be paid somewhere in the region of $50 million over four-years under such a deal. If the cap projections are optimistic, it could be even more.
This contract is much closer to Monk’s true value than the minimum. But how can the Lakers force Monk to stay an additional year in Los Angeles to obtain the Early Bird Rights? Only the taxpayer mid-level exemption would provide an answer. Monk could be signed to a two year deal by the Lakers worth approximately $13 million under that exception. Monk would be able to opt out and test free agency for the second season. If things don’t go well, he could opt in and try again.
Is this enough to keep Monk in the fold? It’s difficult to say. The good news for the Lakers is that very few teams will have significant cap space this offseason. While Orlando, San Antonio, and Detroit are likely to have real space this offseason, all three have made significant investments in young guards over recent years. Monk is not likely to be pursued by any of these teams. Monk could be threatened by a team that offers him the non-taxpayer middle-level exemption. If Monk wants to have that exception, a larger number of teams should be able to do so. Monk could receive $45 million over the course of four years if such an offer is accepted.
This is life-changing money and Monk hasn’t yet landed a major contract. The Lakers may not be able to accommodate Monk’s priority of maximising earnings this offseason. If he is happy in Los Angeles, and wants to keep wearing the purple and golden for the long-term, there are ways he can do so, provided he is patient. This is not an uncommon path. Bobby Portis followed a similar path to stay with the Milwaukee Bucks in this offseason. Nic Batum accepted his Non-Bird 20% raise to remain with the Clippers. However, like Portis, he will have the opportunity to cash in on an Early Bird contract in the offseason. Players who have received Early Bird Rights through this route are entitled to veto trades for one year.
The Lakers won’t be able to match Monk’s offer if he is offered the full non-taxpayer middle-level exemption. It would be impossible for the Lakers to operate below the salary cap as long as LeBron and Anthony Davis are still on the roster. Even if they were able to trade Russell Westbrook, it would not be practical. It would be a long shot that Westbrook would opt out of his contract and sign a longer-term extension at a lower salary. The Lakers might be able to offer Monk a similar deal in the $45 million-range if his cap number drops low enough. This would require Westbrook to commit multiple seasons.
That is going to place the ball in Monk’s court. He can choose to remain in Laker status and get a good contract. He would just need to be patient and wait an extra year to obtain it.
