After completing further testing on his injured left ACL, the Warriors have determined that guard De’Anthony Melton will require season-ending surgery, the team has announced (Twitter link).
The ailment had previously been diagnosed as a sprain, though the fact that it requires surgical treatment suggests it may be more significant.
Melton signed a one-year contract worth the Warriors’ full $12.8MM mid-level exception this past offseason. He will be a free agent again in the summer of 2025, having played all of six games for a surging Golden State squad.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link) notes, Golden State can apply for a disabled player exception, which would be worth half of Melton’s salary (approximately $6.4MM). But because the Warriors are just $534K below their hard cap at the first tax apron, they would have to move off some salary to actually use a potential DPE.
The 6’2″ USC alum could potentially also be used as an expiring matching contract on the trade market, should the Warriors look to acquire a win-now roster addition to capitalize on their strong start to the season.
Melton averaged 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 20.2 minutes per game across those six matchups, posting a shooting line of .407/.371/.625.
At 10-3, the Warriors are currently the No. 1 seed in a crowded Western Conference. Melton, when healthy, had served as a core component of that early success. As The Athletic’s Anthony Slater notes (via Twitter), Golden State head coach Steve Kerr had anointed Melton as his preferred starting shooting guard next to All-NBA point guard Stephen Curry.
Lindy Waters III earned the starting two guard nod in Golden State’s most recent game, a 102-99 loss to the Clippers. Kerr could also explore elevating another recent free agent acquisition, microwave scorer Buddy Hield, or 2024 All-Rookie guard Brandin Podziemski.
Huge blow to the Warriors championship aspirations, they needed Melton
Nope, Strength in Numbers has him covered. Moses Moody is barely playing but when he does he’s been hooping. Cant wait for more Moody and Kuminga! Finally!
Honestly I wanna see how hard this team cooks if Lindy, GP2 and Podz all get DNPs. I bet they can beat anyone by 30+ if those 3 do not suit up.
Stop with your nonsense. Who’s the poa defender now with melton out and no GP2. Need Lindy’s shooting, need podz all around play, his shooting will follow suit at some point. Moody and JK will get their minutes don’t worry buddy
Strength in numbers then cancels out 3 from the same roster. Strength in numbers indeed. Keep up with the copium takes Babey J.
Davey J doesn’t seem to understand. “Strength in Numbers” is about being selfless, not selfish.
Stop with your nonsense. Podz cant shoot or defend. Have you been watching the games? We have been running “no playmaker” lineups with Buddy, Moody, Slomo and Kuminga and they’ve been cooking!
+16 on the floor for GP2 and Lindy Waters, 6 and 8 points better than when they’re off the floor, +12 for Podziemski, but continues to say stuff like this all the time…
Melton was +14.5…their versatility and disruptiveness will take a hit losing him, and you absolutely can’t take other guys you need in that area off the floor, especially to play more lineups with Steph and Hield together…
They’ve been -15 per 100 possessions worse with Moody on the floor than off…
Since he only played a handful of Games, can’t the team apply for the Disabled Player salary exception?
Regardless, Moses Moody’s and GP2’s playing time just increased.
Yes and yes to Moody, but Gp2 is also made of glass and should be treated with kid gloves. Give these minutes to Moody only, he’s been getting nothing lately.
This is going to hurt since Melton is a good 2 way player. They need to get that exception so when teams start to do trades you can bring somebody valuable. One less ball handler which might be what they go looking for.
arc who you got for this upcoming injured player exemption spot?
link to basketball.realgm.com
I think its best to wait and see who becomes available. A big center could be available later on to help in the playoffs. You never know if another injury happens down the road
As the post says theyre too close to the hard cap to use a DPE, and I believe they lose it if they dump Meltons salary for room. Melton is now matching for a bunch of helpful players they could target like DFS, but teams wont drop the ask till close to the deadline when they realize they wont get a huge package for guys.
They can wait until they need to use it. They could use Santos for the spot if they use it to get a player coming back.
A few weeks ago, a lot of people were complaining about the Warriors having too large of a rotation. And now???
And it’s only November. Other injuries, small and big are sure to follow.
Fortunately, Curry, Hield, Podz, Waters, Payton and Moody can all play more minutes.
Yup, you just described the “strength” part of Strength in Numbers. When your #10-13 guys are all ballers, injuries barely do anything. But if they are all guys who are out of the league in the next season, you are screwed.
I told you all again like I always do that they should have traded him for a C. I knew this was going to happen
In Silver’s new NBA or the SBA you can trade injured players I believe
Still can. His expiring contract could be a decent trade chip in combination with other pieces.
Name a center that is actually available. Remember. They need to be able to play defense and are mobile.
This sucks for us and for him. He really was a great signing and provided exactly what the Warriors needed. Great defense, timely shooting, and he was just a nice player. So sorry to hear about this.
I love Waters, but now that Melton is out for the year, Kerr will again make some changes. He didnt want to change is 2nd unit rotation if injury was short term. Whatever it is, Warriors need to get all the young trio going. Let’s go!!
Rough for GSW. No hatred here, this is tough.
Interesting that there’s no mention of Moses Moody in the article above regarding replacing Melton in the lineup or taking some of his minutes?
What’s up with that? Did Kerr write the article, or me? Sounds fishy.
Might be a conspiracy against the incredible Moses Moody. I call for an investigation into unfair labor practices.
Didn’t you know. Podz is stealing all Moody’s because Kerr is living vicariously through him. Oh, he also doesn’t look like Kerr’s son.
Very sad for Melton. If he’d had an injury-free year, he’d be looking at a multi-year deal at $20M/yr.
This injury, on top of the chronic back problems he had in Philly, means he’s looking at the veteran minimum next year, assuming a team is willing to take a chance on him.
Well, this is why you have depth; this is why they still have GP2; this is why you have Lindy Waters at multiple positions; this is why they added an extra guard…
I’m sad he has had all these situations, and he finally gets in a position to be used perfectly, and gets hurt again…Hopefully, Melton will be ready for next season, and will be able to have a full healthy year