I don’t disagree with anything you said except that he is the perfect four for us. If that’s the case then why didn’t he start over Taylor or Bell when McLeod was healthy? Not my decision, just the guys who get paid millions to make them.
He is a good player. He is very smart, works hard, and is selfless, but he is flawed. Not big enough to play the five and I haven’t seen enough on offense to think he can play the 4 next to a traditional 5. Put him next to a JP Estrella type and that changes.
The problem is not Maliq, the problem is he can’t be the second best player on your team if you want to finish in the top of the league. That’s on the other players and coaches not him.