Why Malik Monk Could Be Off the Dallas Mavericks’ Draft Board

With the Dallas Mavericks poised for a top 10 draft pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, there is a good possibility that Malik Monk might not even be on their board.

He is considered one of, if not the most, electric scorers in college basketball, but would the Mavericks even be interested?

This past season, the University of Kentucky rolled out the most exciting back court in the country as they combined two top 10 draft picks in the same back court. Malik Monk and De’Aaron Fox quickly became must-see television.

Monk was known for his scoring ability going into his freshman season, but put the country on notice when scored 47 points on 8-12 from behind the arc against the North Carolina Tar Heels back in December. If anyone didn’t know who Monk was before that game, they did now.

Now, fast forward four months later and Monk has declared for the NBA Draft where he is predicted by many to be a top 10 draft pick.

Is he worthy of the Dallas Mavericks’ first round draft pick?

Dallas sits with a 32-46 record on the season with the 9th worst record in the league. The chances of Monk lasting until the 9th pick are slim, but is he even on their draft board?

The Mavericks have been quite with their whiteboard plans for the summer, but Mark Cuban shared what many assumed in their plans for the summer.

"“We got to get better at point, there’s no question,” Cuban said. “If we can’t do it in the draft, we’ll look at free agency and see what we can do. Yogi is going to get better. Seth will continue to get better. I’d love to see Nico [Brussino] play some point forward and see how that works. He’s probably one of our best passers,” Cuban told Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News."

We all know the Mavericks will be searching for a long-term answer at point guard this coming summer but it was nice to see Cuban not hide from it. It was after that, that Cuban shed a small light into the type of point guard they will be looking for.

"“We’ll have depth, but we have to get that one pass-first point guard. That’s what we don’t have,” Cuban told Sefko."

Assuming the Mavericks look to find that point guard in the draft, Malik Monk doesn’t fit the mold.

One of the biggest question marks around Monk is what exact position he will play in the league. He stands at 6’3″ and 200 pounds where he played off the ball to Fox at Kentucky this season. Based off his frame, he is small for the two guard position, but does he have the playmaking and point guard abilities?

Nobody knows. They thing everyone does know is the kid can score…and score well.

Then you look at the spot Dallas is in with Seth Curry.

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Curry stands at 6’2″ and 185 pounds. He has taken a huge step forward this season as he has proved he can score with some of the best. There are still some question marks around the position he will play going forward though. He is a little smaller for the two guard position but we simply don’t know if he is fully capable of running the point.

Sound familiar?

The Mavericks are committed to Seth Curry and rightfully so. He does only have one more year left on his deal but Mark Cuban has been pretty vocal on keeping the younger Curry brother in Dallas long-term.

Is there a spot in the draft where Monk would be worth the pick for Dallas? Absolutely. If the Mavericks don’t move up to the 7th or 8th spot in the draft and Monk (for some reason) is still on the board at nine or ten, then the Mavericks should just take the best player available.

This isn’t a knock at the talent of Monk either. I believe Monk will be in the NBA for a very long time scoring at a really high rate. His pre-draft workouts will be vital, especially if he could prove to franchises that he could play the role of a scoring point guard.

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But if the Mavericks are at seven or eight in the draft, looking for a pass-first point guard, with Seth Curry on the roster; Malik Monk might not be the best fit.