De'Anthony Melton has had a whirlwind 15 months in his career, having now signed for the Golden State Warriors twice in that period while continuing to recover from the torn ACL injury he suffered after just six games last season.
Melton signed a one-year, $12.8 million contract with the Warriors last offseason, hoping he could rehabilitate his value after coming off a year where he played just 38 games with the Philadelphia 76ers. However, the ACL injury would put pay to those hopes, and now he's back with Golden State but this time at a far lower salary.
De'Anthony Melton admits he would've traded himself last season
In between these two signings Melton was traded by Golden State in December, having sent the 27-year-old to the Brooklyn Nets for another veteran guard in Dennis Schroder. The Schroder experiment was a complete flop during his short stint in the Bay Area, but in a roundabout way that initial trade did help the Warriors secure 6x All-Star Jimmy Butler by February's deadline.
Even immediately after the December trade there were questions on how Melton would feel about a potential return, such had been his excellent fit with the franchise albeit in only six games including two as a starter next to Stephen Curry in the back court.
His subsequent signing now has allayed any fears that Melton might have felt screwed over by the Warriors as a result of the December trade, with the man himself even brutally admitting on Wednesday that he would've traded himself.
"Business is business at the end of the day. I probably would've traded myself too," Melton said. "You needed someone especially at my contract that can come in and play and help the team, so I felt no type of way and I understood."
De’Anthony Melton said he felt no bitterness toward the Warriors trading him last year: “I would’ve traded myself.”
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) October 1, 2025
He liked his experience and the GSW medical staff so he decided to return pic.twitter.com/9XR2yFE0Wm
Melton's maturity in the situation will only further endear him to Warrior fans, many of who already have strong memories of his brief stint with the franchise and are now looking forward to seeing him on the floor again.
After just 44 games in the past two years, Golden State will assuredly take a cautious approach with Melton as he returns from a long-term knee injury. The update on Wednesday would be that he'll be re-evaluated in four weeks, meaning Melton is practically guaranteed to miss Golden State's regular season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers later this month.
The plan will be to have Melton fully up and running and ready to be a vital cog in a hopeful playoff run by next year, with the potential of still proving one of the value signings of the offseason given his skillset within the Warrior system.