Hornets guard Malik Monk has had a rough start to his NBA career. He struggled to produce much the first two years of his career and as a result his playing time has frequently been inconsistent, which was disappointing for a Hornets team that drafted him 11th overall in the 2017 draft.
However, Monk had made a bit of progress his third year in the league. He had become a slightly more efficient scorer and his overall presence on the court was taking steps towards becoming a positive. He even made his first start as an NBA player on Tuesday. With a little more time there was a chance he was setting himself up to be a breakout fourth year player before his next contract.
That was until Wednesday when the NBA announced that Monk was being suspended indefinitely for violating the NBA’s Anti-Drug program.
#Hornets G Malik Monk suspended indefinitely. pic.twitter.com/7L6sbPSqOi
— Michael Eaves (@michaeleaves) February 26, 2020
The NBA gave no details on why Monk was suspended and what he was suspended for, but one can assume this isn’t PED related as we already saw earlier this year with John Collins and Deandre Ayton that those come with a set 25-game suspension.
Monk is in the third year of his four year rookie contract. He would have been up for an extension this summer, but it’s hard to see the Hornets giving him one considering the level of production he’s given so far along with this suspension.
