Why losing Melton deals massive blow to Warriors’ hopes

Why losing Melton deals massive blow to Warriors’ hopes originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area

SAN FRANCISCO – After renovating their roster over the summer, the Warriors were pleased with their work. They did not land an All-Star fill the void created by Klay Thompson’s departure, so they would do so by committee.

Not until the 10th game of the 2024-25 NBA season, De’Anthony Melton’s first as a starter, did everything coach Steve Kerr and his staff hoped for – a fixed starting lineup, stability with rotations, the entire vision for the roster – fall into place.

Of the three veterans acquired in the offseason, Melton would be the only one to crack the starting lineup. And he’d play alongside Stephen Curry in the backcourt.

That lasted only two games. Melton sustained a sprained left ACL on Nov. 12 against the Dallas Mavericks, and the Warriors on Wednesday announced that he will undergo surgery and miss the remainder of the season.

Golden State’s best-found plan was torched before the season was a month old.

“I feel so bad for De’Anthony,” Kerr said Wednesday, two hours before tipoff against the Atlanta Hawks. “He’s such a perfect fit for us and we were so excited to have him. He was clearly going to be our starter next to Steph.”

With Melton out, Lindy Waters III, who was acquired in a June trade with Oklahoma City, will move into the starting lineup next to Curry. For now.

“I liked Lindy in the starting lineup the other night,” Kerr said of Waters, who had six points, five rebounds and three steals in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday. “He’s started the last [two]. He’ll start tonight. Lindy’s a very good player, a really good two-way player. He fills that role well, so we’ll keep starting him and see how it goes.”

Waters is not quite the bulldog defender Melton is, but he’s a bit rangier (6-foot-6 to 6-foot-3) and a natural 3-point shooter. This is not necessarily permanent. Other potential options to play alongside Curry are Moses Moody, who brings similar skills as Waters but has a clear role in the second unit, and Brandin Podziemski, who anchors the second unit.

“BP is another good option, and might end up there, depending on how things go,” Kerr said. “But I like Lindy’s shooting off-ball, to go with that first group. We’re playing two bigs [Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson], so you want as much shooting as possible. And he’s realty good guarding the ball. He just makes a lot of sense.

“But BP could fit in that role well, too.”

Make no mistake, though, this is an absolute Plan B move out of necessity. It changes the lineup, which changes the rotations, which impacts overall roster usage. There might be a Plan C or D or E.

A Curry-Melton backcourt was visualized as far back as June, even before he signed a one-year contract worth $12.8 on July 8. On-ball defense was a weakness for the Warriors last season, and it contributed greatly to them finishing with the 15th-ranked defense in the league.

No one on the free-agent market addressed that better than Melton, who has been high on the list of reasons the Warriors have climbed to fourth in defensive rating.

The Warriors now must seek new combinations that can deliver what they anticipated before Melton went down.

“You want to stack up as many two-way guys as you can in this league, and they’re not easy to find,” Kerr said. “Fortunately, we do have a deep team. Guys will be ready to step up. We’ve just got to keep looking at different combinations and put the best ones on the floor.”

Kerr added that there has been contact with Melton’s agent about his free agency next summer, and he is hopeful of the guard’s return to the Warriors.

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