The longer I've looked at Monk, the more I believe he's a fantastic 6th man, but not a pg starter. It's not because he doesn't have the physical tools for pg, it's just that he doesn't have the consistently strong mental approach for the starting pg position. It's not who he is. Too much up and down in his performances. One game he looks great, the next he's throwing it to God knows who. I really think it's because the mental part of the game wears him down. That's why he was sooo happy that Fox did come back from injury; it took some of the pressure off him at the pg position. If the Kings bring some athletic length for Fox I think Monk can hold down the fort, but I'm not betting on him as a long term answer.
I initially felt the same way. And I was very against Monk starting.
But thinking about it more, I don't know how many players have had a career arc like Monk.
He was viewed as a potential bust in Charlotte, a decent role player in LA and then an elite 6th man in Sacramento. Malik has evolved a lot the last few seasons. He definitely looked like a starting PG when Fox was out.
He is definitely streaky offensively and he doesn't have defense to fall back on when his shot isn't falling, but he can absolutely play make for others.
As for his ups & downs, it's an issue, but it's a game to game issue vs Fox who tends to go into prolonged funks for stretches of games.