Philadelphia 76ers Interested in Malik Monk; Will Consider Trading Down to Get Him
The Philadelphia 76ers are probably still a few years away from legitimately challenging the top teams in the Eastern Conference, but they have put themselves in a great position as they continue to build their team through the lottery.
With Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons and Dario Šarić leading the way, the Sixers are going to be an exciting team next season. However, they still need someone who can act as a perimeter threat. Well, it seems the team may want to address that need in this year's draft.
According to Basketball Insiders' Moke Hamilton, the Sixers are interested in University of Kentucky shooting guard Malik Monk, but using the third overall pick on him may be a bit of a reach.
"Sources familiar with the Sixers' thinking still have Malik Monk ranking quite highly on their depth chart," Hamilton said in his report.
"At the same time, drafting Monk at three (although he is the best fit) might be a bit of a reach. So, one scenario that's being mentioned as plausible is for the Sixers to engage the Kings on a trade that would end up with the teams swapping their number three and number five picks. The Sixers would presumably land Monk while the Kings, in moving up to three, would guarantee themselves Fox," he continued.
Hamilton also added that it's quite possible the Sixers will simply use their pick on him instead of going through the trouble of trading down.
Monk is arguably the best shooter in this year's draft class and he's a treat to watch on the offensive end of the floor. On paper, he should fit with perfectly with the rest of the starters.
The Sixers may get an extra asset if they trade down, but that's risky. Still, they can probably pull that off since the Phoenix Suns already have a lot of guards on their roster. They don't need to another one.