De'Anthony Melton's future with the Golden State Warriors now appears very much in jeopardy, with a strong chance player and franchise aren't on the same page when it comes to his potential value this offseason.
If the veteran guard is to return to the Warriors next season, it sure sounds like it will be on the franchise's terms on another team-friendly deal, whether that be the $3.5 million player option he holds or a new contract at a slight raise.
De'Anthony Melton's time with Warriors may have come to an end
Steve Kerr spoke on Golden State's lack of wing depth in last week's press conference, acknowledging the long-term injuries to Jimmy Butler and Moses Moody that will see them miss the start of next season.
That's not good news for Melton should he opt out and seek a bigger contract as expected in free agency. Depending on what happens with the likes of Draymond Green and Kristaps Porzingis, the Warriors could open up the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception, but there's no guarantee they use a significant chunk of that on Melton.
Instead, they may target wing and frontcourt options to address depth in that area, rather than prioritize a third guard behind Stephen Curry and Brandin Podziemski. Golden State would ideally still bring Melton back, but as Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard recently stated, "I think they’re not likely to bid too high if Melton declines his player option."
This feels increasingly like a situation where both parties would like to reunite, but where the gap in contract negotiations is simply going to be too big to overcome. You can't blame either side -- the Warriors have bigger positional needs, while Melton is a 27-year-old still looking for his first real major pay day.
De'Anthony Melton may have hurt his value playing through injury
Melton's shooting numbers may have been underwhelming and his raw box score numbers didn't jump off the page, but his impact in the first six weeks after returning from his torn ACL in early December was undeniable.
Throughout December and January, Melton tallied a +191 cumulative plus-minus which astonishingly sat 100 points more than the second-best Warrior during that timeframe. However, the 6'2" guard then struggled under the weight of more responsibility once Curry and Jimmy Butler were sidelined, while he also hurt his value by admirably playing through a thumb injury.
It will be interesting to see how much the Warriors and other rival teams attribute that hand injury to his poor form when it comes to free agency. Perhaps that rough end to the season is enough for Golden State to retain Melton on a cheap deal, but otherwise it seems likely he'll command a contract the front office isn't willing to match.
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