Kings' Malik Monk Responds to T-Wolves' Trash Talk: 'They Ain't Won a Playoff Series'

Malik Monk has never won a playoff series in his career, so he knows any trash talk from such a source can be met with ridicule.

"(The Timberwolves) ain't won a playoff series (since 2004), so I don't think they can talk," Monk said of recent comments from the Minnesota Timberwolves, per Sam Amick of The Athletic. "They're in the same boat as us, basically. They ain't won a playoff series, and we ain't won a playoff series (since 2004), so you can't really talk. That's just him being a competitor, though."

Monk was responding to comments from Timberwolves forward Jaden McDaniels after Sacramento defeated Minnesota on March 1. McDaniels said he felt "pretty confident we could beat them four times in a row if we had to play them."

McDaniels may believe his team would prevail in a postseason series, but the Kings defeated the Timberwolves in two of the three regular-season matchups.

The most recent one was that March 1 one, which Sacramento won 124-120 in overtime. Monk was the difference-maker in that game with an incredible 39 points on 16-of-29 shooting from the field and 5-of-8 shooting from deep off the bench.

While players such as Domantas Sabonis and De'Aaron Fox typically lead the way for Sacramento, that version of Monk could unlock a deep playoff run even in a daunting Western Conference.

A first-round playoff series between the Timberwolves and Kings is certainly in play.

Minnesota leads the Western Conference but is just a half-game ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder and one game ahead of the Denver Nuggets. The Kings are currently in the play-in picture with the No. 7 spot, but they are just a half-game behind the Phoenix Suns for the sixth seed.

The Timberwolves landing anywhere in the top three spots could pit them against Sacramento depending on how the play-in picture unfolds down the stretch.

If the two sides matched up, either Monk will advance to the second round for the first time in his career or Minnesota will get that far for the first time since the 2003-04 season.

And then more trash talking will be on the table.