While the Golden State Warriors have already been linked to Damian Lillard and Bradley Beal over the past week, it's another veteran guard whose acquisition may go completely under the radar compared to those other big names in free agency.
There's now surging speculation that De'Anthony Melton is in line to return to the Warriors, with Los Angeles Lakers insider Jovan Buha stating on Monday that "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."
De'Anthony Melton could be one of the steals of the NBA offseason
Melton certainly comes with risk for any team that signs him, having played 44 games over the past two seasons including just six with Golden State last year before suffering a devastating torn ACL injury in November.
Those risks would almost be completely mitigated though when you're talking about a minimum contract deal, which is very likely what Melton will be on if these latest reports linking him to the Warriors comes true.
If Golden State use their taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.7 million) on Al Horford as expected, and assuming they either re-sign Jonathan Kuminga or bring in another player/s via a sign-and-trade, then they'll almost assuredly be limited to filling out the remainder of their roster with minimum contracts.
That would include Melton who could foreseeably accept that given the state of free agency and the lack of money going around. In fact, he might have signed elsewhere already if there was a bigger deal on the table.
If Melton can return to full health (and that's a big if), then the Warriors could get a starter-level player who they know is an excellent complement to Stephen Curry in the back court. It could prove one of the steals of the offseason, particularly if Golden State beat out the Lakers to secure the 27-year-old.
It's easy to forget that this time last year Melton was viewed as a steal on a one-year, $12.8 million contract, with John Hollinger of The Athletic stating that he "had a $26.5 million valuation on Melton. Best value contract of this cycle so far."
It worked briefly for the Warriors, only to come to a sudden halt that sent the franchise into a tailspin until Jimmy Butler's arrival in February. Now Golden State won't have the same reliance on Melton necessarily, but the upside could be significant given his ability to impact on both ends of the floor.