Hornets exercise team option on Malik Monk’s contract

The Charlotte Hornets announced today that they have picked up the team option on the third year of guard Malik Monk’s rookie contract.

The move guarantees the sophomore guard’s rookie contract through the end of next season. It’s a wholly unsurprising move. Teams almost always exercise these options on lottery picks unless they show very early that they don’t have any NBA ability whatsoever. That doesn’t apply to Monk. The Kentucky product has shown flashes of offensive brilliance, but he hasn’t quite figured out how to put it all together yet.

Malik Monk is currently the Hornets third leading scorer at 11.0 points per game, just 0.4 points behind Jeremy Lamb. He’s struggled with efficiency so far this season but has put together some solid scoring nights. The Hornets will hope that he can continue to build off his hot streaks on offense while improving his awareness on the defensive end.