Free agent guard Malik Monk intends to sign a four-year, $78 million deal, including a player option, to return to the Sacramento Kings, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Monk’s agents, Jeff Schwartz and Marcus Monk of Excel sports, were able to start negotiations after the NBA Finals and avoid free agency with the maximum contract the Kings were allowed to pay Monk.

Monk, 26, has had back-to-back strong seasons in Sacramento under coach Mike Brown and alongside De’Aaron Fox, his former college backcourt mate at Kentucky. After averaging 13.5 points and 3.9 assists two years ago, he had career-highs in points (15.1) and assists (5.1) this past season for the Kings.

Monk, who finished fifth in Sixth Man of the Year award voting two years ago and second this past season, revitalized his career in 2021-22 with the Los Angeles Lakers after a subpar stint through his first four seasons with the Charlotte Hornets. He parlayed that success into a two-year deal with the Kings, and now will be part of Sacramento’s core moving forward.

Coming out of Kentucky, Monk was the 10th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft by Charlotte.

ESPN’s Tim Bontemps contributed to this report.