Sixers guard De’Anthony Melton returned from an 18-game absence on Friday vs. Cleveland, tweets Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Melton, who last played on January 12, has been dealing with a lumbar injury in his back.
The 25-year-old had started all 33 games in which he appeared this season prior to Friday, when he came off the bench on a minutes restriction. Melton, one of the team’s best defenders, has averaged 11.8 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 3.2 APG and 1.6 SPG on .393/.363/.827 shooting in 29.1 MPG through 33 contests.
Veteran forward Nicolas Batum had also missed the past nine games leading into the All-Star break with a hamstring injury prior to Thursday, when he played 18 minutes in the loss to New York. While he was technically available for the back-to-back Friday, he hasn’t actually played through three quarters, likely just to be cautious because he’s 35 and soft-tissue injuries are tricky.
As our tracker shows, Melton and Batum are two of a possible 14 free agents for the Sixers in 2024. That’s the highest FA total in the league — the Lakers are second with up to 11.
Melton, who is also eligible for a veteran extension, is making $8MM in 2023/24, while Batum makes $11.7MM.
The Sixers are currently 32-23, the No. 5 seed in the East.
I don’t think Philly can field a better team if they take the cap space route but color me intrigued from the couch in watching them try as a test project this summer
*I expect them to operate over when push comes to shove but Morey has never really colored between the lines – Fascinating summer ahead for Philly
Nice take and I agree. Morey may rethink max cap on two more superstars.