Likely what the GMs who passed on him focused was his defense, or lack thereof. Monk was a real negative for the Hornets on D, and I think was seen just as a good 3 point shooter who'd hurt more than help. But this year he's active and pretty effective for the Lakers on defense (backed up by, say, RAPTOR defensive stats) even if obviously he can still be bullied by some guys. Maybe that's just a contract hustle now that he sees what he needs to do to get paid. The other thing about Monk is he's very well rounded on offense, way more than I would have expected -- not just a 3 point shooter, but can score from 3 levels and has good handles, too. He and LBJ play the 2-man game very effectively.