The Golden State Warriors could reunite with De’Anthony Melton this offseason, according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
The two-way guard is an unrestricted free agent. After tearing his ACL in November, Slater believes he will not get more than the veteran’s minimum as a risky flier.
“Honestly, I think Melton’s a veteran minimum target,” Slater said on the Warriors Plus-Minus podcast. “He’s intriguing for the Warriors.”
Melton, 26, is coming off an ACL injury, which he sustained in November last year. The veteran guard is expected to make a full recovery ahead of the season.
Before the injury, Melton averaged 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals in six games, including two starts, for the Warriors. He played next to Stephen Curry in the backcourt and helped the Warriors get off to a 12-2 start.
Hurt Feelings?
Getty Will De’Anthony Melton reunite with the Golden State Warriors?
Melton’s injury derailed the Warriors, who stumbled to 11th in the Western Conference until they made the big swing on Jimmy Butler that lifted them back to the playoffs. The Warriors quickly shipped Melton to Brooklyn for Dennis Schröder in a move that fizzled out. They subsequently included Schröder in the Butler deal.
“I am curious what he thinks about the way the Warriors just traded his contract right away,” Slater said. “But to me, especially because I don’t, if he tore his ACL, are we sure he’s going to be ready for the opener? He’s got question marks body-wise.”
The Warriors will have competition for Melton.
Jovan Buha, Slater’s colleague at The Athletic, floated Melton as a potential depth piece for the Los Angeles Lakers.
“I really like Melton as a flier,” Buha said on his “Buha’s Block” podcast. “At this point, he’s gonna be a vet-minimum guy. I think he’s a guy who, for a vet minimum contract, you could do a lot worse.”
The Jonathan Kuminga Conundrum
The Warriors’ offseason begins with their restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.
Despite averaging 24.3 points on 55.4% overall shooting and 38.9% from the 3-point line in his last four games in the playoffs, Golden State coach Steve Kerr made it clear that he will not have a significant role for the Warriors if he returns next season.
“I’ve been asked to win,” Kerr told The San Francisco Standard’s Tim Kawakami on “The TK Show” on May 21. “And right now, he’s not a guy who I can say, I’m going to play 38 minutes with the roster we have, Steph, Jimmy, and Draymond [Green], and put the puzzle together that way and expect to win.”
In a separate interview, Kerr believes Kuminga also wants no part of this roller-coaster ride in Golden State.
“I think the number one thing is that, JK and I have a very good relationship,” Kerr said on “Willard and Dibs” on 95.7 The Game on May 22. “We talk all the time. We like each other. This is all just basketball. This is not a case of JK coming in saying, ‘Hey, I got to get out of here.’ I want this. I want that.
“This is just trying to make this fit and trying to make this work. But every player, every young player, even the older guys, they want to fit in well with what’s happening. And so I think there’s got to be part of JK that thinks about going elsewhere.”
