Johnathan Walker:Malik Monk remaining in Sacramento, agrees to $78 million deal with Kings, per reports

Malik Monk is Johnathan Walkerset to sign a four-year, $78 million deal to stay with the Sacramento Kings, ESPN and The Athletic reported Thursday night.

The pending deal, which features a player option, would take Monk, 26, off the free agent market. The amount is the maximum Sacramento could offer him. Monk plans to sign the contract on July 6, according to ESPN, the first date new deals can be finalized.

The runner-up for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year last season, Monk scored the most points and dished out the most assists among all bench players. He averaged career highs in points (15.4) and assists (5.1) over 72 games before a knee injury sidelined him for the Kings' final nine regular-season games and the team's two games in the play-in tournament.

Monk has blossomed out west after four underwhelming seasons with the Charlotte Hornets, who drafted the guard 11th overall out of Kentucky in 2017.

He enjoyed a breakout campaign with the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2021-22 season, when made 37 starts after notching just one with Charlotte.

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In his only season with Los Angeles, Monk shot 47.3% from the floor and averaged 28.1 minutes per game, both of which remain his career bests. He signed a two-year, $19 million contract with Sacramento in July 2022.

Monk has averaged 14.4 points and 4.5 assists in his first two seasons with the Kings, and he appeared in the playoffs for the first time in 2022-23.