Five years ago, Malik Monk of the University of Kentucky was the 11th overall pick in the NBA draft by the Charlotte Hornets, and he was thought to have great potential as a scoring combo guard in the pros.
But after four seasons, he had failed to pan out, and he had started just one game in the NBA.
Thus, there wasn’t much interest in him as a free agent last summer, and the Los Angeles Lakers were able to scoop him up for the veteran’s minimum salary of about $1.