Charlotte Hornets: Best candidates for 2018-19 NBA awards

Sixth Man of the Year: Malik Monk

To arrive at the best candidate for the Sixth Man of the Year award to come from Charlotte, we have to make a few assumptions. First, let’s assume Jeremy Lamb is the Hornets’ starting shooting guard for 2018-19. That likely pushes Nic Batum to the small forward spot.

With the wings taken care of, let’s shift to center and power forward. Last year, the team had Dwight Howard, but he moved on to the Washington Wizards. Marvin Williams occupied the starting power forward spot, but he’s now entering year 13 in the NBA.

Williams only played 25.7 minutes a game and his 13.9 Player Efficiency Rating indicates he was a below-average player. Frank Kaminsky was his primary backup, but wasn’t that much better, yet is younger with slightly more potential.

The battle for center should be a tight one between Cody Zeller, Willy Hernangomez and Bismack Biyombo during training camp. While the position could be filled by committee, whoever is the backup doesn’t jump off the page as a game-changer a sixth man needs to be.

Frank Kaminsky has his role as a backup power forward, but isn’t a force defensively yet and still lacks a strong perimeter game for the NBA. We can’t forget about Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, but he hasn’t shown a strong enough offensive game to be considered a go-to guy.

So, almost by default, the sixth man for the Hornets could end up being Malik Monk, even if his rookie campaign left a lot to be desired from the team. The potential is there though, as he averaged 19.8 points per game in his freshman year in college. He also ended the last month of the 2017-18 season with three games of 20 or more points.

Monk also fits the shooting guard mold that Hoops Habit‘s own Amaar Burton pointed out in his article on the best awards candidates on the Detroit Pistons. However, if Monk is the default choice after having two or three specific scenarios play out, that probably won’t help his chances too much.

Odds: Slim, unless he becomes the next Ray Allen