When the Golden State Warriors initially brought in De'Anthony Melton before the start of the 2024-25 season, it was with the hope that he would be a perfect complement to Stephen Curry in the team's backcourt.
Of course, things didn't quite go according to plan. Melton suffered a season-ending ACL tear just six games into that campaign, and although he returned to Golden State for 2025-26 after getting shipped off to the Brooklyn Nets mid-season, he clearly wasn't in top form after his return.
He was a helpful rotational contributor—averaging 12.3 points and shooting 40.7% from the field across 49 regular season appearances. But the Warriors will be hoping for more as he returns to the team on a two-year, $12.5 million contract this season.
Particularly, they'll be hoping for more out of his pairing with Curry. As of now, it seems as though Melton has a real shot to beat out Brandin Podziemski for the starting shooting guard role purely by virtue of his defensive upside. But if Melton can unlock more of his game as a playmaker and a ball-handler, allowing Curry to play off-ball on a more consistent basis, he could very quickly become the smartest signing Golden State made this offseason.
Warriors need De'Anthony Melton to take on more of a ball-handling role this season
This team has been fine, for a long time, simply saddling Curry with primary point guard duties, and it feels unlikely they'll suddenly shift their offensive structure entering 2026-27. But as Curry ages, it's clear that Golden State needs to provide him with some sort of help or insurance in that regard.
Curry has always been one of the league's best off-ball players, navigating screens and the chaos of the halfcourt offense in order to find an open shot wherever opposing defenses leave even an inch of room. When the team had a full complement of playmakers across the starting five, including Draymond Green's moonlight appearances as a point forward, this was a balance they struck perfectly.
But as Curry has aged, Golden State has routinely failed to provide him with that sort of piece. Anywhere the Warriors can clip off a bit of Curry's workload during the regular season is a minor victory, though, and if you combine the efforts of Melton and Brandon Williams there's a chance for Golden State to start to lean in that direction again in 2026-27.
Melton hasn't always been the most productive playmaker throughout his career. He hasn't averaged more than three assists since his rookie season, and he struggled with turnovers last year as he attempted to find his footing in the flow of Golden State's offense. But he has a respectable career assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.93, and we've seen flashes of what he can accomplish with the ball in his hands over his short stint with Golden State.
Podziemski likely has more upside as a primary ball-handler in the long-term. But unless we see major strides in the consistency of his scoring and his decision making when he's operating on-ball, Melton's defensive abilities will almost certainly outweigh that upside in terms of the Warriors' rotational priorities.
If Melton can be trusted with more on-ball reps, that provides him with the full complement of skills that he'll need to play alongside Curry consistently in the starting rotation. Golden State, at the very least, needs to give Melton the chance to unlock that in 2026-27.
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