Sixers Draft: Malik Monk Over De’Aaron Fox

Despite reports that the Philadelphia 76ers are interested in De’Aaron Fox, Malik Monk remains the best option out of Kentucky’s backcourt.

This year’s NBA Draft yields options aplenty for the Philadelphia 76ers at three. With Markelle Fultz and — call me crazy — Lonzo Ball still the favorites to come off the board first and second, the Sixers’ selection could be the first real departure from certainty come draft night. They’ll determine the direction the teams after them go, while also establishing the manner in which they’ll build around Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons.

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A Royal Pain

The names that have been connected with the Sixers the most have been the most intriguing part of that guessing game thus far. While Josh Jackson seemed like an assured selection on the night of the lottery, many the reports have since diverged. Dennis Smith Jr. has gained legitimate steam as an option, while Jayson Tatum and Jonathan Isaac are likely to work out with the team. The names thrown around most often, though, are the two who hail from Kentucky — Malik Monk and De’Aaron Fox.

Two guards with play styles that are distinctly opposed, the pair, in many ways, represents the decision Bryan Colangelo and company must make — a decision between best player available and best fit.

While I’m not sold on De’Aaron Fox as a top three talent, numerous reports hint at the fact that many executives are. His combination of explosiveness and unmatched speed makes him a terror in transition, while his halfcourt offense, in the eyes of some, is a jump shot away from a John Wall-esque impact on that side of the ball.

He’s also a plus defender, leveraging that quickness and an extremely aggressive approach to play the passing lanes and poke balls loose at a high clip.

But he’s still, by all tangible measures, a jump shot away. He shot 24.6 percent from three last season, while his mid-range arsenal — outside of a strong tournament run to cap off the campaign — was woefully inconsistent throughout the season. He struggled with timing, often hanging too long in the air and showing subtle variations in shot release on a possession-by-possession basis. That’s the type of inconsistency that deteriorates shooting percentages againt NBA defenders.

And while there’s certainly room for improvement — and a highly attainable route towards accomplishing that — there has to be pause when considering his fit alongside Ben Simmons in the rotation. He’s as ball-dominant a guard as they come in this year’s class, using his quickness to probe the defense on the interior and make plays when charging down hill. Simmons, like Fox, is a playmaker who thrives when operating down hill and struggles to hit jumpers on a consistent basis.

Related Story: De'Aaron Fox's Fit and Lack Thereof

Brett Brown has made his intentions to run Simmons as the de facto point guard overtly clear during the early stages of this offseason, which means Fox would likely see a solid chunk of playing time operating off the ball. Asking somebody whose speed gives him an innate advantage off the bounce to neutralize that advantage by running him as a slasher in heavy doses is an incredible misuse of the available talent.

Monk, however, epitomizes what the Sixers need alongside Simmons. He’s the best shooter in this year’s class, boasting balance and a quick release that allows him to excel both off the bounce and off the catch at virtually any angle available. He shows an excellent sense of space when gunning around screens on the perimeter as well, finding holes in the defense and utilizing that quick release to — more often than not — burn them with a three.

For a Sixers team that found themselves in the top 10 in threes attempted and bottom six in three point percentage last season, a volume shooter who can hit with efficiency — 39.7 percent on 8.6 attempts per contest — would be a massive aid in their current setup.

Related Story: Malik Monk's Skill Set is a Perfect Fit

Monk also boasts the potential to operate as the secondary ball handler alongside Simmons, using his own explosiveness to pose a dangerous threat in the pick-and-roll while flashing the general vision needed to develop his point guard skills in time. He’d also be able to defend opposing point guards for Philadelphia, which essentially eliminates his biggest defensive concern — whether or not he has the size (length) and strength needed to stick with NBA two-guards.

In a year that could see the Sixers make massive strides, no player causes a more drastic shift in the team’s stylistic demands — something that Brett Brown must then accommodate — than De’Aaron Fox. He’d alter how Embiid fits into the rotation, while his fit with Simmons would force the Aussie to readjust his own approach in his first season on the floor.

Monk would, in turn, fit right in, offering both of them more space while giving Brown a player with the potential to be the best shooter entering the league in recent years — doing so in an era that stresses offensive fluidity and floor spacing.

Next: 5 Second Round PG Prospects

If the Colangelos are, as many reports seem to hint at, considering the two Kentucky guards in relatively extensive fashion, Malik Monk needs to be the guy. Fox, simply put, doesn’t have a clear path forward in the Sixers’ current rotation.