Malik Monk open to taking less money for Lakers' return

According to The Athletic's Johan Buha, unrestricted free agent Malik Monk is open to taking less money to return to the Lakers.

While Monk could likely get between $10-12 million on the open market, the most the Lakers can offer him is their taxpayer midlevel exception which is worth about $6.3 million.

“They might not be able to pay me as much as I want,” Monk told The Athletic. “But I could be here and be way more comfortable as a Laker than going to any other team and they're paying me $5 million more. So it's just me trying to figure out what team would really want me.”

Monk was one of the few bright spots for the Lakers last year, averaging a career highs 13.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists.