If you're the general manager of the team and you only have about $2 million left on your hands, but the team still asks for another player to reinforce, what would you do? In the eyes of most people, this little money may only sign a substitute who is strong on the edge of the NBA. However, this summer, there have been a number of former star players, and the championship team directly completed the basic salary signing, just to impact the championship. Among them, there is a humble player, who also signed a basic salary contract, and because of the short time he played in the NBA, he can only get an annual salary of 1.79 million, but he has performed extraordinary this season, completely exceeding expectations, he is Malik Munch.
1. Before entering the NBA, it was already famous, and the template was JR and Thompson!
In fact, before entering the NBA, Munch already had a lot of fame. When he was only 16 years old, he was invited to Nike's annual basketball summit, and he scored a staggering 59 points at the time, setting a record for the score of the tournament.
He became more famous in Arkansas and won the MVP of the tournament in the McDonald's All-Star Game for high school students, becoming a well-known five-star high school student. And his super scoring ability was taken by the famous University of Kentucky at a glance, and Munch also naturally joined this deep basketball college. In his freshman season, he became the veritable core of Kentucky, especially in the match against the University of North Carolina, he shot 18 of 28, including 8 three-pointers, slashed 47 points, not only set a personal scoring record in school history, but also shocked the United States, and the eyes of all scouts were attracted to this young man. Munch averaged 19.8 points per game during his freshman year, making him the NCAA's official scoring guard of the year. And he shot confidently, and at the same time, his high shooting rate and consistency have already equipped himself with the ability to enter the NBA. He's pretty good at the cut, but he can also find empty shooting opportunities, and the offensive end is very much like JR Smith and Klay Thompson. It was also through this that he participated in the draft with alumni Adebayor and Fox, and was selected by the Hornets with the eleventh pick, successfully entering the NBA game of his dreams.
2. The first entry into the NBA was frustrated, and finally adapted to the NBA in four years
However, after being selected by the Hornets, Munch's performance was not satisfactory. In his rookie season, he averaged just 13.5 minutes per game, shooting just 36 percent from the field and 34.2 percent from three-point range. Compared with his college days, Munch's efficiency is completely heavenly and underground, averaging 6.7 points, 1 rebound and 1.4 assists per game, and the pride of heaven before entering the NBA seems to be about to disappear. In fact, although Munch has a good shot, the shortcomings of being too thin are infinitely magnified after entering the NBA.
You know, in the NCAA, he was close to the ground, far enough to shoot, and his offensive ability was very outstanding. But after entering the NBA, he faces opponents who are stronger than himself, and even if he has a good ability to break through, he cannot find an advantage in the confrontation. Throughout his rookie season, he made only 72 shots from the basket and shot only 52.8 percent of the passing line. Except for the 46.5% three-point projection of 45° on the right, the shooting rate of other positions is quite dismal, and it was once regarded as a parallel cargo by the media.
However, the Hornets still gave Munch enough patience, and as the playing time slowly increased, he was also gaining weight and increasing his strength to fight.
Although he can only play as a substitute, but gradually adapt to the NBA confrontation, his shooting rate is also slowly stable, especially in the last year, as the team's backup guard, he can average 11.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game, shooting 43.7%, and the three-point shooting rate is also 40.1%. Munch successfully transformed into a qualified pitcher. However, the Hornets' guard group was too crowded, and Rozier and Ball left him with no day to start, so he chose to leave after the rookie contract ended.
3. Ben played as a substitute, but played the best season of his career
In the free market, Munch wanted a bigger performance platform for the championship, and at the age of only 24, he signed a one-year, $1.79 million base salary contract with the Lakers. However, he was originally treated as an ordinary substitute, but he has played quite a good performance this season.
He currently averages 12.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, shooting and shooting career-highs from both three-point range. From the start of the game against the Nets on December 26, until the game against the Kings on January 13, Munch scored in double figures in 8 of the 9 games and 20+ in 6 games, which was remarkable. "Thick Eyebrows" was absent due to injury, coupled with the decline in Westbrook's state, Munch topped the scoring gap in time to help James share the scoring pressure. He is particularly adept at finding opportunities for empty shots and quickly completes interior scoring when opponents have defensive gaps.
What makes the Lakers even more pleased is that his three-point projection is quite stable, always sending key points in time when the team needs it, and high-level data shows that the Lakers net win 6.0 points per 100 rounds when Munch is on the court, and 6.9 points when not on the court, the influence is directly approaching James. In addition, he also has a certain ability to hold the ball and attack, and will not be in the dilemma of not being able to score because of the old Zhan's off the field.
For Munch, the Lakers may be a springboard. In any case, the young Munch still has a lot of room to develop, with such a good performance, there will be multiple teams chasing in the summer, and the big contract must be in his pocket.