The Golden State Warriors are yet to make a single move over a week since the begnning of free agency, but they could be on the precipice of a brilliant signing that may change what's been a period of major frustration for fans.
After being strongly linked to a move to the pacific rival Los Angeles Lakers, it appears that unrestricted free agent De'Anthony Melton could be on track to reunite with the Warriors a year after he initially signed with the franchise.
De'Anthony Melton could be headed back to the Warriors
According to Lakers insider Jovan Buha on Monday, speculation surrounding Melton and the Lakers has died down and been replaced by much more discussion on the 27-year-old's potential return to the Warriors.
"The chatter with Melton and the Lakers has cooled over the last few days, and there's actually been more buzz with him and the Warriors. He's been linked to them a little bit more," Buha said.
It comes just days after Jake Fischer reported that there was an expectation that Melton would sign with the Lakers, with Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report stating earlier on Monday that the "Lakers must make De'Anthony Melton contract a priority."
Yet with those talks having seemingly died down, Golden State could be gifted a perfect opportunity to bring back a veteran guard who worked so beautifully for them last season, albiet for an extremely short period.
Melton played just six games with the Warriors after signing a one-year, $12.8 million contract last offseason, with the 6'2" guard proving a great back court complement to Stephen Curry before devastatingly going down with a torn ACL injury in November against the Dallas Mavericks.
While there's plenty of concern of Melton's health given he's returning from a long-term injury and the fact he only played 38 games the previous season with the Philadelphia 76ers, his addition on a cheap one-year deal could prove one of the steals of free agency.
Buha's comments on Melton have been echoed by those of Bleacher Report's Eric Pincus in an article predicting the landing spots of the top 25 remaining free agents.
"One of several who could be a target for the Warriors. Some of the buzz linking him to the Los Angeles Lakers has died down in recent weeks," Pincus wrote.
Melton averaged 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals in his six games for the Warriors prior to injury, shooting 37.1% from 3-point range on nearly six attempts per outing.