De’Anthony Melton he said Warriors practically had “three different lineups” last season due to injuries that forced him to adapt to several different roles, Luca Evans of The San Francisco Chronicle writes in history only for subscribers. Although it ended in disappointment with a 37-45 record and a playoff loss, Melton believes the experience was valuable in making him a more complete player.
He missed the start of the season recovering from a torn ACL he suffered in 2024 and didn’t make his debut until December. Evans claims it took Melton about a month to shake off his shooting, but he became an effective scorer off the bench in January. Injuries to Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry thrust him into the starting lineup as a surprise move in February, and by March he was being asked to take on more ball-handling and offense-building responsibilities.
“It was just hard” Melton said. “I’ve been trying to figure out what we need as a team and what I like best as a player, but also having to do certain things that — I put a lot of energy into just trying to create offense and create advantages and things like that. And also going the other way and defending the best players.”
After that, Melton found himself in a similar situation re-signing with Golden State this summer. With Butler still recovering from a torn ACL and no clear timetable for his return, the team may choose to be cautious with Curry after a knee problem forced him to miss most of the second half of last season and Moses Moody returns after tearing the patellar tendon.
That means Melton could face another year of mixed responsibilities, but he’s ready for the challenge and hopes to become more effective in running the offense.
“This is what I want to do” he said. “And you’ve got to want more of the weight on your shoulders. You know what I mean? That’s how valuable you are. And it looks like you’re capable of it, so go ahead and do it.”
More on Warriors:
- George Niang was in training camp with the 2017-18 NBA title team, but was waived before the season started, delaying his Golden State debut by nearly a decade. In a recent appearance on the Not Even D2 podcast (Link to YouTubehat tip to Warriors are talking), Niang, who signed a one year contract last month, talked about how that experience shaped his career and why he decided to join the Warriors now. “I think it’s the way they play,” he said. “…Being on another team, I don’t think people realize how much you worry about a guy like (Steph Curry). There’s been so many times when we’ve been up 15 or 16 against the Warriors in the fourth quarter with 2 minutes left and we’re still thinking, ‘OK, the game’s not over.'”
- Draymond Green addresses the issue of expansion in his latest podcast (Link to video on Twitter), saying that talent dilution is a problem for team and league executives, but not for players. He also claims that “13 teams” tanked last year.
- Keith Smith of Spotrac is exploring Curry’s extension options, considering how many more seasons he wants to play.