Ahead of what is slated to be a hectic free agency period, the Charlotte Hornets have now made a decision on the futures of Devonte' Graham and Malik Monk with the team.
The Hornets elected to extend a qualifying offer to Graham but decided against giving Monk a QO, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Graham will become a restricted free agent as the Hornets can now match any offer for the point guard, while Monk will be out of a contract when the free agency period kicks off tomorrow.
Graham regressed a bit last season following his breakout 2019-2020 campaign. The 6'1″ point guard averaged 14.8 points per game on 37.7 percent shooting last season. Still, he did help the Hornets sneak into the play-in tournament, although their playoff hopes were ultimately dashed following their loss to the Indiana Pacers in the No. 9 vs No. 10 matchup.
Even as Graham will now become a restricted free agent, the Hornets are expected to work out a multiyear deal with the guard.
On the other hand, Malik Monk failed to live up to the high expectations after being picked in the first-round by Charlotte in the 2017 NBA Draft. Although Monk often showed promise as a 3-point shooter, he never became a regular in the Hornets' starting lineups during his four seasons with the team.
A reunion between Monk and Charlotte can not be counted out over free agency. But as the Hornets front office did draft former University of Connecticut standout James Bouknight with the No. 11 overall pick in the recent 2021 NBA Draft, this may have provided an early hint from the Hornets that they have no interest in bringing back Monk for another season.
For now, the Hornets wait to see on whether any team will place an offer sheet on the table for Graham over the opening week of free agency. Meanwhile, Monk will be on the lookout for possible free agent offers beginning Monday.
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