It turns out the Philadelphia 76ers did the right thing in passing up the opportunity to re-sign De’Anthony Melton to a new contract when he hit free agency last year. After all, it’s all been downhill in his career since he left for supposedly greener pastures in San Francisco, where the injury bug has hit him harder than before.
Last season, Melton was one of the most important additions for Golden State. In fact, he quickly gained the trust of Steve Kerr and the coaching staff. Unfortunately for the 27-year-old, he suffered a torn ACL just six games into the season, and ultimately found himself without a place on an NBA roster.
Now, the Warriors were magnanimous enough to sign Melton to a new deal this summer, but he hasn’t returned yet. ACL injuries usually recover in less than a calendar year, but in his case his recovery appears to have been much slower, as Kerr recently revealed that the combo guard is not yet close to returning on the floor for the mediocre Warriors.
Former 76ers guard De’Anthony Melton is facing a potentially permanent career decline
When healthy, Melton is one of the better role players in the entire league. He is a hard-nosed defender who can guard three positions while serving as a secondary playmaker as an efficient outlet on offense. Those are his best qualities that the 76ers were fortunate to experience firsthand.
Melton fit in so well in Philly that Doc Rivers infamously benched Tyrese Maxey for him in his first season. While the move raised a lot of eyebrows (and he was ultimately moved to the bench during the playoffs), Melton gave the 76ers better balance across the board, allowing James Harden and Joel Embiid to fully maximize their two-man game.
That said, the fact that Melton is reeling from the blunt force of the injury bug shouldn’t come as a surprise to the 76ers. After all, he was only able to appear in 38 games during his second season in Philly, which likely contributed to the front office’s decision to part ways with him in free agency.
Now the season is still young and Melton still has a lot of time to prove himself, but for now his return as a productive role player is vague at best. In fact, the lack of a timeline at this point is particularly concerning. Hopefully he can come back and make an impact for the Warriors, even if not to the same extent as he was for the 76ers.
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