The Sixer Sense
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Malik Monk Could Be The Philadelphia 76ers’ Russell Westbrook

By Rusty Gorelick

Mar 26, 2017; Memphis, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Malik Monk (5) drives against North Carolina Tar Heels guard Stilman White (30) in the first half during the finals of the South Regional of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 26, 2017; Memphis, TN, USA; Kentucky Wildcats guard Malik Monk (5) drives against North Carolina Tar Heels guard Stilman White (30) in the first half during the finals of the South Regional of the 2017 NCAA Tournament at FedExForum. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Philadelphia 76ers need players who can shoot, handle the ball, and defend guards. Like Russell Westbrook at UCLA, small 2-guard Malik Monk can be that.

The Philadelphia 76ers have a very important decision to make in the 2017 NBA Draft.  In short, who to choose?  One prospect is University of Kentucky guard Malik Monk.

On one hand, the similarities between Monk and NBA MVP candidate Russell Westbrook are undeniable.   Both stand 6-foot-3 tall and excelled as shooting guards in college. On the ohter hand, whether or not they become more alike rests on Monk’s shoulders.  Monk can will earn a successful NBA career, he will try to adjust to the pros like the OKC Thunder point guard.

In summary, the Philadelphia 76ers are in need of a player like Monk.   He can can shoot from deep and guard point guards. Monk could be the answer, and if Philly drafts him, then Brett Brown and Bryan Colangelo could try and mold him into a Westbrook-type player with more finesse and less athleticism.

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Playing off the ball at UCLA, Westbrook’s shows much more well-rounded stats than Monk’s numbers at UK. He averaged 12.7 points, 4.3 assists, and 3.9 rebounds while shooting 34 percent from three-point range in his sophomore year, which are impressive numbers, but not indicative of his future as a triple-double machine.

Monk’s stats in his one year in college were much less well rounded, but indicate that he will be a good fit in Philadelphia. He averaged 19.8 points, 2.3 assists, and 2.5 boards while shooting 39 percent from deep.

Guard To Guard

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The main point behind this comparison of Monk and Westbrook is that Monk, like Westbrook did, could make the transition from the two to the point in the NBA due to his lack of positional size. Although Monk doesn’t seem to have the passing ability that Westbrook had in college, the Sixers shouldn’t be turned off by that. Ben Simmons will be the one running point on offense next season, and Monk was the third ball handler at Kentucky while being Coach Calipari’s top scoring option.

Monk will fit in with the Philadelphia 76ers as the secondary playmaker, since he’s just 19-years-old, he has plenty of time to develop his passing and vision in the pros. The main attraction Bryan Colangelo will see in him is obviously shooting, since the Sixers have no reliable outside shooting on their roster unless Robert Covington finally becomes consistent.

Monk Guards Guards

No matter how much Colangelo portray Simmons as point guard to Sixers fans, Ben Simmons will probably not be able to stay with opponents’ point guards. That’s another plus about Monk: he’s used to guarding smaller players, and since he’s pretty quick he should be able to hang on the defensive end in the pros. One knock is his 6-0 wingspan which shows that he won’t get many steals, but if his feet are quick enough, he’ll force turnovers that way.

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Monk has point guard potential, and since he’s a better shooter than Westbrook, it’s possible that he will adapt to the NBA quicker than Westbrook did. The NBA is a 3-point league now, and since Monk is arguably the best shooter in the upcoming draft, the Sixers could quite possibly take him with the third overall pick.