De’Anthony Melton to undergo season-ending ACL surgery

De’Anthony Melton to undergo season-ending ACL surgery

Golden State Warriors guard De’Anthony Melton, who’s been dealing with a sprained ACL in his left knee, will undergo season-ending surgery, the team announced Wednesday.

Melton got injured in the second half of their Nov. 12 NBA Cup game against the Dallas Mavericks. He played in 26 minutes, tallying 14 points, four rebounds, four assists and one steal on 6-of-12 shooting and 2-of-6 from 3-point range.

The 26-year-old guard was one of the team’s additions this offseason to help replace sharpshooter Klay Thompson. Though Melton signed for just one year and $12.8 million. You can’t help but wonder if the organization will do right by him and sign him to a second contract next offseason, even if the cost is cut in half.

When he’s healthy, Melton’s an impactful 3-and-D guard. In six games, he averaged 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals on 40.7 percent shooting and 37.1 percent from 3-point range. Over his previous three seasons, he posted 10.6 points on 40.9/37.7/78.7 shooting splits, in addition to 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 steals.

The Warriors are deep, especially behind Melton with Buddy Hield, Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody and Lindy Waters III, who’s recently emerged in the rotation. Melton’s ability to guard at the point-of-attack alongside Stephen Curry will be tough to fill. He’s arguably their top perimeter guard defender not named Draymond Green or Andrew Wiggins. Golden State’s team defense is excellent, and Podz and Moody can hold their own on that end of the floor. So I think they will fine, even against some of the West’s best.

***

Click Here for more NBA Content

Subscribe to Vendetta’s Twitch

Subscribe to Vendetta’s YouTube

Check out the Vendetta Shop