Al Horford is gaining most of the attention when it comes to the free agency signings the Golden State Warriors are expected to make, but it's another move that could actually have more long-term impact.
The expected return of De'Anthony Melton is one that's pleased many Warrior fans given his brief but notable impact at the start of last season, yet that hasn't necessarily reverberated across the league as the veteran guard recovers from an ACL injury.
The expected De'Anthony Melton signing is going under the radar
In a recent article 'Ranking the Top 10 Minimum-Contract NBA Free Agents Still Available', Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report had Melton sixth behind a number of bigger-name players whose reputation may now be outweighing their current value.
Horford was ranked No. 1 which will please Golden State fans, but they should be less enthused about the fact that former All-Stars Russell Westbrook and Ben Simmons were both placed above Melton at No. 2 and No. 4 respectively.
This reflects the somewhat forgettable stature Melton has fallen into across the league, having been limited to 44 total games in the last two years which has now made him available on a minimum contract.
Yet when he has played, he's been very good and much more impactful to winning than Westbrook or Simmons who have understandably struggled at times to go from ball-dominant stars to role players off the bench.
In contrast, Melton's 3-and-D skillset makes him a far better complement playing alongside star players. That's exactly what teams are looking for at this point of free agency, meaning Melton should be valued/ranked higher than Westbrook and Simmons.
Amir Coffey took third spot on the rankings, having since signed a one-year contract with the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday in what's an underrated acquisition after a career year with the L.A. Clippers.
Gary Payton II slots in at No. 5 ahead of Melton, further proving the level of disrespect in Golden State's likely signing of the 27-year-old. There's still a chance that Payton returns to the Warriors on a new deal once Jonathan Kuminga's future is resolved, but reports suggest that he's certainly behind Horford and Melton when it comes to the franchise's free agency priorities.
If the Warriors were asked to choose one of Payton, Westbrook, Simmons or Melton, they're quite clearly choosing the latter. If you asked the other 29 front offices, you'd probably get the same answer from most of them.
Yet that isn't reflected in these rankings which shows just what Melton's recent injury history has done to his reputation, and how he needs a big season to get back on track and to yield another decent contract.