Hornets take Monk at No. 11
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Charlotte Hornets bolstered their offense by selecting shooting guard Malik Monk from Kentucky with the 11th pick in the NBA draft.
Two days after trading for eight-time All-Star center Dwight Howard to upgrade their inside game, the Hornets turned to their perimeter shooting Thursday night with the addition of the 6-foot-3 Monk.
Monk raised his stock with a 47-point performance on eight three-pointers against eventual national champion North Carolina last December. Monk went on to be named SEC freshman of the year, averaging 19.8 points per game and shot 39.7 percent from threepoint range. He was the winner of the Jerry West Award given to the nation’s top shooting guard after establishing a Kentucky freshman-record with
754 points.
He finished as the second-highest scoring freshman in the country, behind only No.
1 pick Markelle Fultz of Washington (23.2 ppg).
Monk played three years at Bentonville High School after transferring from East Poinsett County High in Lepanto.
Monk helps fill the void created by the trade that sent backup shooting guard Marco Belinelli to Atlanta in the deal for Howard. He is expected to work into the rotation as a backup to Nicolas Batum.
The Hornets finished 18th in the league in three-point shooting percentage last season at 35.1 percent.
Monk was projected to go in the top 10 in many mock drafts, but instead fell to the Hornets.
That didn’t seem to faze his much.
“You never know,” Monk said in an interview with ESPN shortly after being selected. “I was praying for the best situation and hopefully this is it.”
Monk spoke with Hornets owner and former NBA star Michael Jordan on Skype earlier this week and came away excited about the prospect of coming to Charlotte.
“It went well and they picked me,” Monk said with a laugh.
Monk and two Kentucky teammates were among the 14 lottery picks Thursday.
Bam Adebayo was the last lottery pick; he went 14th to Miami, joining De’Aaron Fox (Sacramento) and Monk in the NBA.
Duke had two players in the top 14, and nobody else placed more than one.
Twelve of the first 14 picks, including Adebayo, were one-and-doners.
That’s a trend that could slow down after this year.
The NCAA has never really liked it, and earlier this month, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said the system as it’s currently constructed — where players can enter the draft after a year of college — is “not working for anyone.”