Ranking 6 options to replace De'Anthony Melton in the Warriors starting lineup

The Golden State Warriors are set to be without De'Anthony Melton for a period after announcing that the 26-year-old sprained his ACL late in Tuesday's win against the Dallas Mavericks.

It's a frustrating loss for the Warriors who had just settled on a new starting lineup that included Melton following his five-game absence from a back injury. It now leaves Steve Kerr with another decision to make ahead of Friday's second NBA Cup game against the Memphis Grizzlies

Six options who could replace De'Anthony Melton in Warriors lineup

Fortunately Golden State has the depth that provides Kerr with a host of different options he could go to. Let's have a look at six various options that could replace Melton, ranking them from least likely to most likely:

6. Lindy Waters III

Lindy Waters III has already started one game this season and could be a viable option to replace the shooting that Golden State loses in Melton's absence. However, given he's back out of rotation and still seen as the 13th man on the roster, it's highly unlikely that Waters vaults up into a starting role next to Stephen Curry in the back-court.

5. Gary Payton II

Gary Payton II was the starting shooting guard against the Cleveland Cavaliers last week, and prior to that also started against the Washington Wizards. What became clear against the Cavaliers though is that a lineup with Payton, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis simply leaves too little offense, making it unlikely that the defensive-minded guard earns a recall to the opening five.

4. Brandin Podziemski

If this happened at the start of the season, then Brandin Podziemski would likely have ranked a lot higher in terms of potential replacements. Yet the fact is that the second-year guard has been out of form in recent games, likely caused by a combination of illness and the broken nose he's been dealing with.

Combine that with the need for Podziemski to be the backup point guard behind Curry, and it's unlikely that he steps into the starting lineup even though it had been forecast for so much of the offseason.

3. Jonathan Kuminga

Perhaps the riskiest but highest upside option for Kerr -- going back to his initial starting lineup at the start of the season that featured Andrew Wiggins at the two and Jonathan Kuminga at the three. It didn't really work through the three-game sample size, with the spacing issues an obvious concern.

The Warriors are 7-1 and Kuminga leads the entire league in bench scoring since he was taken out of the starting lineup. The team and individual form is probably going too well to justify such a stylistic shift, even if in the long-term it would be ideal if Kuminga can return to the starting five.

2. Buddy Hield

If Kerr simply wants to find more offense in the starting lineup, look no further than Buddy Hield. The 31-year-old is second behind Curry in scoring on the team so far this season, with his 17.6 points per game coming on 46.7% shooting from three-point range.

In a similar vein to Kuminga though, do you really want to mess with something that's working really well? Hield and Kuminga are perhaps the most dynamic bench duo in the league right now, and that's a major strength the Warriors should continue with.

1. Moses Moody

He may not provide the same offensive creation and ball-handling that Melton can, but in terms of simply trying to find another two-way presence, then Moses Moody is certainly the best option for Golden State.

The fourth-year wing brings size next to Curry and is currently shooting 44.2% from beyond the arc this season. Moody's already started four of 11 games so far and appears the most likely candidate to benefit from Melton's unfortunate injury.