Hornets guard Malik Monk is among the NBA players who recently tested positive for COVID-19, head coach James Borrego said (Twitter link via Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer).
Monk isn’t currently experiencing coronavirus symptoms but will miss at least several more days of practice.
The 11th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Monk hasn’t been the scorer and shooter the Hornets hoped for through his first three NBA seasons, averaging just 8.6 PPG with a .322 3PT% in 191 total games. His 2019-20 season came to an early end when he was suspended indefinitely for violating the league’s anti-drug policy. He was reinstated from that ban in June.
Although Monk hasn’t been a consistently productive player in Charlotte, he was playing well leading up to his suspension, scoring 17.0 PPG on .457/.350/.851 shooting in his last 13 games (27.9 MPG) of the ’19-20 campaign. He and the Hornets hope to carry over that success to ’20-21, but his coronavirus diagnosis will set him back a little.
The NBA announced on Wednesday that 48 players tested positive for the coronavirus between Nov. 24-30, so there are several other dozen players besides Monk waiting to be medically cleared.
