As expected, the Warriors have officially signed free agent guard De’Anthony Melton, the team announced today in a press release (Twitter link).
According to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link), Melton’s new minimum-salary deal will cover two seasons, with a player option on year two. That means he’ll earn $3,080,921 in 2025/26, with a $3,451,779 option for ’26/27.
Because it’s a multiyear contract, the Warriors’ cap hit in year one will be Melton’s actual salary instead of just $2,296,274, the minimum for a veteran with two years of NBA experience. That will move Golden State slightly closer to its second-apron hard cap.
Melton, 27, signed a one-year, $12.8MM contract with the Warriors last offseason and got off to a good start with the team, averaging 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 20.2 minutes per game through his first six outings. However, he tore his ACL in that sixth game, ending his season. He was later traded to Brooklyn in a deal for Dennis Schröder and finished the season with the Nets.
Melton remains in the late stage of his rehab from that ACL tear, according to Anthony Slater of ESPN, who reports (via Twitter) that Golden State expects him to miss the start of the regular season. The Warriors like the progress Melton has made, Slater adds, but will take a cautious approach with his return.
The club also confirmed (via Twitter) that it has signed Seth Curry, whose agreement was previously reported. Curry was reportedly expected to receive a non-guaranteed Exhibit 9 deal, which won’t count against the cap.
With the Warriors seemingly unable to carry a full 15-man roster into the regular season, the expectation is that Curry will be waived before the start of the season and potentially return a little later this year, once the team can fit a prorated minimum-salary deal below its hard cap.
The Warriors now have a full 21-man preseason roster.
I imagine Melton’s player option was the cost of asking him to wait on the JK situation
They offered him the player option in July because he was going to sign with the Lakers. He’s from LA and grew up a Laker fan so Warriors were behind Lakers.
The key to GSW success this season: identifying stable, 10-man-per-game rotations, with fixed combinations, ASAP.
With so many old and injury-prone players, there should be opportunity for everyone. But the default can’t be a 13-man rotation.
Lineup chaos the last 2 seasons cost GWS several unncecessary losses through January, and forced the team to over-extend themselves in the 2nd half. The lesson should be learned, but I worry that Kerr will feel the need to use another 13-man rotation.
We can’t have another record-setting 50 different starting lineups in 60 games. Even Steph and Draymond were complaining about it by December. The obvious costs are offensive turnovers, but there will be more missed assignments at both ends of the floor. And it effects team morale.
If we’re hearing Kerr say “I’m still looking for combinations” in December, we’re in trouble. Fingers crossed he’s learned his lesson.
Watching from a distance, it baffled me that he never figured out his rotations last season. The way Kuminga got jerked around, man oh man. Hard to believe he’s one of the most successful coaches of all time.
Hoping for one last hurrah, all but Draymond are very likeable.
There are very few statistical measure of bad coaching, but one is how often you play statistically inferior players at the expense of obviously better players.
A coach must use his bench to some extent in order to rest starters. And sometimes match-ups dictate the use a lesser player more. But it’s easy to statistically detect extremes, and Kerr was 3-4 standard deviations from normal through January of last season. That’s what happens when you go 14 players deep. You end up giving > 17 mpg at SF to G-Leaguer Lindy Waters, who Kerr called “one of our best players” as Kuminga and Moody looked on from the bench.
Kerr’s excuse all the way through the trade deadline was “I’m just trying to find combinations”. Of course, the one combination he refused to try was the one that made GSW the 2nd best team in the NBA (after Boston), in the 2nd half of the previous season. In 2023-24, no lineup of players in the West Division was as good as Curry + Podz + Dray + Wiggins + Kuminga. Yet, even through all the losses and the NBA-record setting number of different lineups would Kerr use that lineup.
You keep trying to push that lineup. It won’t work over a full season. So, why go back to it?
The Warriors problem last season was that nobody was shooting. They finished 17th in offense and 16th 3 point shooting. Curry was double teamed until Butler came along. When asked what it was like playing with Jimmy, Curry said, “Easy”.
The Warriors have a motion offense. They continue moving the ball until they find the open man. Kuminga has wanted to play isoball.
One of the problem I see is finding playing time for all the players. How many minutes does the second team get? Kerr will also need to not over play Butler, Green, Halford, and Curry minutes.
IMO, Kerr needs to establish his “starting 10” and tell the rest there will be plenty of time available for the rest because age and injuries will be, let’s face it, greater than any team they’ve every played for.
Butler, Green, Steph, Horford, and GP2, are projected to miss/sit about 20-25 games each based on recent history and age.
* 1-10
1-5 (starters): Steph, Podz, Jimmy, Horford, Draymond
6-10: Kuminga, Melton, Moody, GP2, Post
11-15: Seth Curry (SG), Santos (SF/PF), TJD (C)
* 2 obvious lineup combos using 1-10:
1. Steph, Melton, Dray, JK, Horford (proven success of JK, Steph, Dray)
2. Podz, Moody, GP2, Butler, Post (worked great in 2024-25)
* Who backs up the 4 old starters:
Steph: Podz, Melton
Draymond: Kuminga, Santos, Moody
Butler: Kuminga, Moody, Santos
Horford: Post, Draymond, TJD
* vulnerabilities suggesting future acquisitions:
1. Rebounding and interior size: The West is going “jumbo”. Horford is under average rebounder, Post is frail. Draymond is the only “pure” PF on roster. We don’t have a guy like Looney to bail us out anymore.
2. Limited athleticism: Only Kuminga & Butler can guard big wings like LeBron, Kahwi, KD, Edwards, etc. We will guard the 3-point line poorly. Team defense only gets you so far. (See Minnesota series.)
Old men who get injured often. This is not 2020.
Even with this lineup of Horford, Curry, Butler, Draymond and whomever…its still not even in the same stratosphere as the Rockets, Thunder or Mavs and probably the Nuggets.
People are delusional if they think this team can stay healthy for the season.
You’re right, but we’re counting on them being healthy in the playoffs. It’s the age old plan and built on managing minutes, planned time off, playing your bench a lot, and counting on good luck.
A great question would be to ask is if any team has been successful with this sort of a plan? I would say yes, but for a few players. Not your entire starting lineup lol !!
But guess what. It’s different today, guys play longer and mid 30s is still prime, I’m hoping.
But serious question. Has load management ever won a championship? (I may ask this question again in another warriors article in the next couple of days if this doesn’t get enough views.)
The Raptors of 2019 load managed Kawhi on his way to the finals where they played an injury riddled Warriors team who lost Klay and KD later in the series clinching the ship for Toronto.
Gary- flawless analysis.
Yes load management has won a Championship. @mogaballs brings up the 2019 Raptors, but the obvious example to me is the 2014 Spurs, the oldest team ever to win a Chip: Duncan was 37, Ginobili, 36, Parker 32, Boris Diaw 32, Danny Green 27, Kahwi Leonard 22. Old, but only 1 player, Duncan, had left his prime by this time.
– Aim for the playoffs: Popovich saw the 82-game season as a means to an end, not an end in itself.
– Minutes restrictions: No player on the 2014 Spurs averaged more than 30 minutes per game. Duncan played 29, Parker 29, Kahwi 29, Diaw 25, Green 24, Ginobili 23.
– Rest days: Popovich rested his “Big Three” on back-to-back games or during games against lesser opponents. He was fined by the NBA for sending his key players home before a nationally televised game against the Heat. The term “load management” was popularized.
• Deep roster, but average of 11 players per game. Popovic believed in set combinations of players. He would change combinations game to game, but not in game — a big difference from Kerr.
Lol, Mavs and Rockets will struggle and the Thunder will find out what trying to defend a ‘chip is like.
We’ll see if Kerr is up to the task of managing minutes and showcasing Kuminga.
Kerr won’t showcase Kuminga.
If he plays Kuminga it’s to win.
If he doesn’t play him it’s because he doesn’t think it gets wins
They want to trade him, so they’ll be playing him to try to get his value up.
Sounds like you think Kerr is a liar.