Do We Hate High-Offense, Low-Defense Guards Now?

What Malik Monk, Cam Thomas, and others tell us about the state of the market

Note to you all: This piece may feel like a ramble at times. There is no significant stats analysis, and it is simply my thoughts on the market — a different style than normal, but it’s what I wanted to do today!

Just a few years ago, a player like Cam Thomas would have gotten a big chunk of change.

In 2022, then-Blazers shooting guard Anfernee Simons signed a 4-year, $100 million deal, despite having all offense and no defense. Malik Monk, who is now reportedly on the trade block, signed a 4-year, $78 million deal in 2024. Immanuel Quickley, too, got a massive 5-year, $162 million contract with the Raptors. All three of these players have incredible offensive outbursts of varying impact, and all of them are, shall we say, defensively challenged.

And yet, the previously mentioned and quite similar Cam Thomas has struggled to find a new deal in restricted free agency.

Josh Giddey, similarly, is a phenomenal offensive threat but is a poor defender, especially for his size; nobody has taken the bait on a new (and bigger) contract for him.

And, yes, Malik Monk is on the table even though he has been a key piece of the modern Kings, which presents an interesting trend: The market might just hate all-offense, no-defense guards.

Today, I want to talk about why that might be the case, and what it means for contending teams, the players themselves, and the wider market.