De’Anthony Melton’s latest run with the Warriors is starting to look like the version of him Golden State has kept betting on.
The team has taken three swings at reviving him, and this one is finally producing real results. After arriving in 2024-25 following an injury-hit stretch with the Philadelphia 76ers, Melton won the starting job over Brandin Podziemski in training camp and flashed the kind of point-of-attack defense and 3-point shooting that made him look like a clean fit next to Stephen Curry. That promising start disappeared when an ACL tear ended his season, and he was later sent to the Brooklyn Nets in the deal that brought Dennis Schröder back to Golden State.
Golden State brought him back again last season on a minimum deal with a player option, and by midseason it looked as if he had already outplayed that number. With the Warriors short on financial flexibility that summer, his exit seemed inevitable. Then came a pair of thumb injuries, a late-season shooting slump, and another offseason loop that landed him back in the Bay on a two-year, $12.4 million contract with a player option.
That deal looks a lot like the one before it. The difference now is that Melton is actually holding up his end of the bargain.
Even off the bench, he’s giving the Warriors the steady production they need from a veteran guard. Through 11 games this season, nine of them as a reserve, the ninth-year guard is averaging 10 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.2 assists while hitting 42.9% of his 3s.
His overall field-goal percentage is still just 41%, but that hasn’t undercut his value in the role he’s filling now. He’s not there to pile up shots; he’s there to defend, space the floor and keep the second unit functional.
That’s exactly why Golden State has kept circling back to him. At his best, Melton gives them lineup flexibility.
He can defend at the point of attack, he can fit next to Curry, and he can still punish defenses from the perimeter. With Podziemski now established as the starting shooting guard, Melton’s value has shifted into the bench role, where his skill set still plays.
The market for players like that is real. Quentin Grimes, for example, signed a four-year, $60 million contract with the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason.
He’s younger than Melton, but his production with the Philadelphia 76ers last season was close, and his 3-point shooting sat at 33.4%, well below Melton’s current mark. If Melton stays healthy and keeps knocking down shots, he could put himself in that neighborhood too.
The question is whether the Warriors would be the team to pay him.
Golden State has said it does not want to take on long-term money in any deal involving Kristaps Porzingis’ contract, though that appears tied to preserving flexibility for a bigger move this offseason. Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green are also on expiring deals, and the Warriors are projected to have a little more than $100 million in cap commitments next season, which gives them room to maneuver before they even get near the first apron.
If the plan is to land one more star and then round out the roster with veterans, Melton could still have a place. But a deal in the range of $15 million annually is no sure thing.
For now, his resurgence is helping the Warriors right away. Longer term, it may be pushing him toward the kind of payday he has been chasing since arriving in 2024 - and that could make him too expensive for Golden State to keep if he declines his player option.
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Jordan Poole has also re-entered the picture in a way that would have sounded unlikely not long ago, with the former Warrior saying he would be open to a return as a free agent. If Golden State does end up with more salary cap flexibility next offseason, the front office may have more room to explore familiar paths as well as splashier ones, and that is the kind of backdrop that keeps reunion talk alive even when the roster is already rolling. [Read more 🡒]