With De'Anthony Melton looking for a pay day and the Golden State Warriors rumored to already be targeting another guard or two, it felt like a split between player and franchise was inevitable this offseason.
However, the Warriors may have just received a boost in their hopes of retaining Melton this summer, with salary cap expert Keith Smith of Spotrac providing a fairly bleak outlook on the veteran guard's potential market in free agency.
De'Anthony Melton may be forced into picking up his player option
Despite a rough end to the season that wasn't aided by playing through a hand/thumb injury, it's been expected that Melton would opt out of his $3.5 million player option and command more money as an unrestricted free agent.
Yet as part of a Golden State offseason preview, Smith doesn't believe Melton or another key veteran with a player option, Al Horford, would command more than the minimum on the open market this offseason.
"Veterans Al Horford and De’Anthony Melton both have player options too. Neither player is probably getting more than the veteran minimum if they opt out. That makes it more likely that both Horford and Melton pick up their options for $5.9 million and $3.5 million respectively," Smith wrote.
Did Melton's lacklustre form and numbers over the final weeks of the season really hurt his value that much? According to Smith's projections it might have, offering the Warriors an opportunity to have another valuable rotation player on a cheap deal next season.
Golden State may not be willing to pay Melton significantly more than his player option were he to opt out and seek a new deal, but they should be absolutely thrilled if he were to pick it up and return.
De'Anthony Melton could still play a big role for the Warriors next season
Melton's reputation took a hit after the All-Star break where he shot less than 39% from the floor, only 29.2% from 3-point range, and ranked third-last on the team in plus-minus. However, there were some relevant factors at play that suggests he can turn things around and be a critical part of the rotation going forward.
With Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry sidelined by injury, the 28-year-old was thrust into an offensive role he's not particularly equipped for. Combine that the hand injury and the fact it was his first year returning from a torn ACL, and you can understand why his impact waned late in the season.
There's no reason why Melton couldn't be an impactful 20-minute per game rotation player as a sixth or seventh man next season, making him an valuable piece were he to return to the Warriors on the player option.
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