De’Anthony Melton Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Injury Notes: Sharpe, M. Williams, Embiid, Sixers, Lowry

January 9th, 2024 at 12:06pm CST by Luke Adams

After leaving Sunday’s game vs. Portland due to a knee injury, Nets center Day’Ron Sharpe has been diagnosed with a hyperextended left knee, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. As Lewis relays, Sharpe is expected to be reevaluated by the club in about two weeks.

It’s an unfortunate setback for a player whose role has increased in his third season in Brooklyn. After averaging a modest 11.8 minutes per game in 80 appearances across his two NBA seasons, Sharpe has logged 16.0 MPG in 37 contests so far this season, posting career-best marks in points (7.5), rebounds (7.0), and assists (1.4), among other categories.

In Sharpe’s 592 minutes of action this season, the Nets have a net rating of +7.7. In Brooklyn’s 1,194 minutes without him on the court, that number plummets to -5.8. That’s easily the biggest on/off disparity among Nets rotation players so far in 2023/24.

Here are a few more injury updates from around the NBA:

Hornets center Mark Williams, who has been sidelined by a low back ailment since December 8, will be out for at least one more week as he continues to rehab the injury, the team announced on Monday (via Twitter). Charlotte has a 1-14 record in games without Williams so far this season.
Sixers center Joel Embiid (left knee swelling) didn’t practice with the team on Monday or Tuesday and appears likely to miss a second consecutive game on Wednesday in Atlanta, per Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports (Twitter links). However, Tobias Harris (left ankle soreness) and De’Anthony Melton (back soreness) each practiced both days and head coach Nick Nurse is confident they’ll be available vs. the Hawks, Bodner adds. Harris sat out on Saturday, while Melton has missed Philadelphia’s past three games.
Heat point guard Kyle Lowry exited Monday’s game in the third quarter due to a sprained left hand, but the initial scan on Lowry’s hand came back clean, so he’s considered day-to-day for now, as Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald writes. Miami has taken a committee approach to the point guard responsibilities this season, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel, so if Lowry – who is also battling an illness – does have to miss time, the ball-handling duties will be shared by Tyler Herro, Josh Richardson, and others.
In other Heat injury news, Jimmy Butler (toe) has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game vs. Oklahoma City, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. It’ll be the ninth game in the last 10 that Butler has missed.

Sixers Notes: Embiid, Road Trip, Trade Talk, Melton

January 1st, 2024 at 7:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Reigning Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid will be back in action on Tuesday.

Embiid is ready to go after sitting out the last four games due to a sprained right ankle, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer tweets. Philadelphia faces the Bulls, who defeated the Sixers in Chicago 105-92 on Saturday. The 76ers play six of their next seven games at home.

Embiid is averaging a league-high 35.0 points to go along with 11.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game this season.

We have more on the Sixers:

They went 2-2 on their road trip without Embiid. Nicolas Batum returned Saturday after missing five games with a strained right hamstring. The absences of those two players led to extended minutes for Paul Reed, Marcus Morris and Danuel House Jr. “This was a good road trip for us,” Tobias Harris told Pompey. “Two-and-two, to finish out with kind of a mini-identity to this group without playing with the big fella. … We continue to get guys back in the rotation as well, so different variables. But at the end of the day, overall on the road trip, I thought we made a lot of progress. We grew and developed as a team through those games.”
In the aftermath of the Knicks acquiring OG Anunoby, coach Nick Nurse was asked if the Sixers needed to make a move before the trade deadline. Philadelphia already made a major trade by shipping James Harden to Los Angeles but Nurse isn’t averse to another alteration to the roster, according to Pompey. “I think you always have to be in the mindset to upgrade at all times,” Nurse said. “Whether I was coaching the Iowa Energy, or coaching the Sixers, there’s always places. Can you improve 10 through 12? Can you improve eight through 10? Can you improve three through five? You are always trying to do that or you are getting assets so you can do something else.”
De’Anthony Melton won’t play on Tuesday due to lumbar spine soreness, Pompey tweets.
In case you missed it, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski recently reported the Sixers are unlikely to make another major move this season. The Sixers could have more cap space than any other team in 2024 if they don’t add long-term salary this season.

Injury Notes: Jazz, Lakers, Sixers, Leonard, Payton, Clarke

December 21st, 2023 at 3:56pm CST by Rory Maher

The Jazz will be shorthanded for Thursday’s back-to-back in Detroit, with Lauri Markkanen (left hamstring — injury maintenance), Keyonte George (left foot inflammation) and Talen Horton-Tucker (left foot soreness) among the eight players who will be unavailable, per Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter link).

Utah is just 2-13 on the road this season, but the team will be facing the Pistons, who have lost 24 straight games, two shy of the single-season record. If Detroit hopes to snap the skid in the near future, tonight certainly seems like a good opportunity.

Here are a few more injury-related notes from around the NBA:

LeBron James (left ankle peroneal tendinopathy) and Gabe Vincent are out for Thursday’s back-to-back in Minnesota, tweets Mike Trudell of Spectrum SportsNet. Lakers center Anthony Davis (left ankle sprain/bone bruise), meanwhile, is questionable for the matchup against the West’s current No. 1 seed.
Sixers guard De’Anthony Melton exited Wednesday’s victory with a thigh contusion, but it’s not expected to be a serious injury, tweets Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Melton, Nicolas Batum (hamstring) and Robert Covington (illness) did not practice on Thursday, according to Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports (Twitter link). On the league’s official injury report, Melton is questionable for Friday’s matchup with Toronto, while Covington is probable and Batum has been ruled out.
He has yet to miss a game this season, but Clippers forward Kawhi Leonard popped up on the injury report ahead of Thursday’s back-to-back in Oklahoma City. He’s officially questionable with a left hip contusion.
Warriors guard Gary Payton II has been “making good progress” from his right calf strain and has been cleared to start “various forms of team practice,” the team announced (via Twitter). Payton, who has missed the past nine games, will be reevaluated again early next week, per the Warriors.
Grizzlies forward/center Brandon Clarke tells Marc J. Spears of Andscape he expects to return to action sometime around the All-Star break. A key rotation player for Memphis, Clarke has been sidelined since March 3 of last season after tearing his Achilles tendon.

Atlantic Notes: Raptors, Melton, Reed

December 20th, 2023 at 8:10pm CST by Rory Maher

If the Raptors want to remain competitive, they need to play Scottie Barnes, Pascal Siakam and OG Anunoby more minutes, argues Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca.

Grange points out that Barnes’ year-over-year minutes are virtually unchanged despite the noticeable improvements he’s made in his third season, while Siakam — who led the league in minutes per game each of the past two seasons — and Anunoby are both playing fewer minutes in 2023/24. That three-man group has a plus-1.3 net rating, compared to the team’s overall minus-1.5 mark.

New head coach Darko Rajakovic has been reluctant to extend his top players beyond the 38-minute mark, however.

“One thing that we cannot overlook is… we have (had) a pretty healthy roster this season,” said Rajakovic. “That’s a testament to our medical staff but also us working together to try to manage those minutes. I always look at the long-term benefits for the player, for the team, for the organization and for everybody. I think that every single night running guys to 38, 40 minutes, it’s really, really hard. But on certain nights if that happens, it happens.”

Here’s more from the Atlantic:

Blake Murphy of Sportsnet.ca considers potential trade targets for the Raptors, focusing on solid young player who have a chance to become stars. Pelicans wing Trey Murphy, Knicks guard Immanuel Quickley and Hawks forward Jalen Johnson are three of the five players Murphy mentions.
Sixers guard De’Anthony Melton sustained a left thigh contusion in the first half of Wednesday’s contest against Minnesota and was ruled out for the remainder of the game, the team announced (Twitter link via Derek Bodner of PHLY Sports). Melton, who has started every game for the 76ers while averaging 11.9 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.6 steals, will be a free agent in 2024.
With Nicolas Batum (hamstring) and Robert Covington (illness) both out for Wednesday’s game, Sixers backup center Paul Reed said he was ready to play in the frontcourt alongside Joel Embiid if necessary, per Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The two big men shared the together for 62 seconds in Monday’s loss to Chicago, Pompey notes. “I’ve got to make sure I’m ready to be out there again with [Embiid], if need be,” Reed said. “… I wish we were able to spend more time out there [Monday], so we can have a better rhythm.”

Sixers Notes: Nurse, McDaniels, Maxey, Embiid, Melton

October 28th, 2023 at 9:54pm CST by Arthur Hill

Making his return to Toronto tonight, Sixers coach Nick Nurse explained why he decided to leave after five years with the Raptors, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports. Nurse’s time with the organization included a championship in his first season, a Coach of the Year award and a 227-163 record. However, he hadn’t won a playoff series since 2020 and the team’s progress was stagnating.

“It felt like it was time from both sides,” Nurse told reporters before Saturday’s game. “It still feels that way to me, just looking around. I look at them play and they look like they’re playing great and I’m really enjoying coaching this team. So everybody is where they’re supposed to be.”

There were complaints in Toronto that Nurse was overplaying his starters and neglecting player development while pursuing every possible win, writes Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Players were also unhappy with the level of communication, Grange adds, with some saying they learned about changes to their roles through the media instead of directly from Nurse.

Nurse was complimentary toward his former team at tonight’s press gathering, saying, “They look good to me. It’s a new coach, a new system and they’re going to need some growth time. But I think in general they seem like they’re playing really hard, they’re playing really well together, they seem really focused and they’re doing a lot of good things.”

There’s more on the Sixers:

Jalen McDaniels got a much better offer when he decided to leave the Sixers and sign with the Raptors this summer, according to Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). McDaniels landed a two-year, $9.2MM contract in Toronto, while Philadelphia was only offering a minimum-salary deal. “Yeah, I couldn’t do that, you know?” McDaniels said.
Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid have shown off a much crisper two-man game early in the season, observes Kyle Neubeck of PHLY Sports. With James Harden still out of action, the Maxey-Embiid connection has become the focus of Philadelphia’s offense, and Neubeck states that Maxey has become a noticeably better passer over the summer. Neubeck also wonders how much the Sixers’ front office really wants Harden to return, since it would bring a ball-dominant guard into an equation that’s working well without him.
P.J. Tucker and De’Anthony Melton appear “lost in the shuffle” in Nurse’s offense, Neubeck adds. While Tucker was expected to decline without Harden creating shots for him, Neubeck sees Melton’s slow start as a greater concern. He believes Melton has been miscast as a lead guard when Maxey is on the bench and suggests he would be more comfortable off the ball if the Sixers can sign a backup point guard.

Sixers Guaranteeing De’Anthony Melton’s 2023/24 Salary

July 3rd, 2023 at 12:41pm CST by Rory Maher

The Sixers are guaranteeing De’Anthony Melton‘s full salary for next season, league sources tell Michael Scotto of HoopsHype (Twitter link).

Melton’s 2023/24 salary was previously partially guaranteed at $1.5MM, but he will earn his full $8MM in 2023/24, according to Scotto. His early salary guarantee date is today, as our tracker shows.

A 6’2″ combo guard, Melton was the 46th overall pick of the 2018 draft out of USC. He spent his rookie season with the Suns before being traded to Memphis, where he spent the following three seasons.

The 76ers acquired Melton from the Grizzlies in draft-night deal last year. He had a solid debut season with Philadelphia in ’22/23, averaging 10.1 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.6 APG and 1.6 SPG while shooting 39% from three-point range in 77 games (58 starts, 27.9 MPG).

The move was expected, as Melton has a team-friendly contract. Known as a strong, versatile defensive player, the 25-year-old is entering the final year of his deal.

Melton is eligible for a veteran extension that could pay him up to $75MM over four years, as Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype tweets. However, it seems unlikely that the Sixers will rush to extend Melton, considering they’re trying to preserve cap flexibility for next summer, Gozlan notes.

Sixers Notes: Harden, Embiid, Tucker, Melton

May 9th, 2023 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

While Sixers stars Joel Embiid and James Harden have had a tendency to occasionally fall back on “my turn, your turn” style offense this season, their chemistry in Game 4 was what the team envisioned when it acquired Harden at last year’s deadline to pair him with Embiid, as David Aldridge of The Athletic writes.

Embiid and Harden combined for 76 points on 27-of-49 (55.1%) shooting in Sunday’s crucial home win. They were also involved in the biggest offensive possession of the night, when Embiid passed out of a double team with about 20 seconds left in overtime and found Harden, who hit a three-pointer to give Philadelphia a one-point win lead. That shot proved to be the game-winner.

“When we space the floor, and we do the things we need to do, it’ll find an open shot,” Harden said. “Not just me and Joel, but just everybody who’s open. Once we did that, tonight, we did that at a high level, consistently. And that’s just great offense for us.”

Here’s more on the 76ers:

As Rich Hofmann of The Athletic writes, it has been a roller-coaster series so far for Harden, who has averaged 43.5 points per game on .622/.565/1.000 shooting in the Sixers’ two wins and 14.0 PPG on .179/.154/.842 shooting in the two losses. Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports takes a look at what Harden’s performance in the present could mean for his future, noting that the guard’s name up frequently during the Rockets‘ interview process with head coaching candidates.
The 76ers’ decision to give P.J. Tucker a fully guaranteed three-year, $33MM contract last summer raised some eyebrows, but veteran postseason leadership the club sought from the 38-year-old was on full display in Game 4, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. After Embiid shied away from attacking Celtics center Al Horford during the final minutes of regulation, Tucker delivered a spirited on-court message to this season’s MVP. “Nobody can guard Jo, one-on-one. There’s no way,” Tucker said. “That’s not disrespect to Al or anybody else, but I guarded him for a lot of years. When he’s aggressive and assertive, it’s impossible. And I’d seen him, two or three plays in a row, not do that. And we can’t have that. We can’t have that. Not with the season in the line. We can’t have it.”
After letting a 16-point lead slip away, the Sixers looked like they might be headed for another devastating playoff loss on Sunday, but they pulled out a victory that head coach Doc Rivers attributed to the group’s improved “mental toughness,” as Tim Bontemps of ESPN relays. “We’ve just got veteran presence,” Embiid told ESPN. “Guys that know how to win, that know how to play. A lot of teams could have quit. But we just stuck together. We just got a different mindset this year.”
De’Anthony Melton, a new addition to the team ahead of the 2022/23 season, has emerged as a consistent bright spot for the 76ers in the postseason, per Gina Mizell of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Melton went scoreless in Game 4 but had put up at last 13 points in four of the five games before that and has played strong, versatile defense.

Atlantic Notes: Maxey, Sixers, Horford, Trent, Barnes

March 3rd, 2023 at 10:49am CST by Luke Adams

Tyrese Maxey returned to the Sixers‘ starting lineup on Wednesday for the first time in over a month, replacing big man Joel Embiid. Interestingly, Maxey remained in the starting five on Thursday when Embiid was healthy, supplanting fellow guard De’Anthony Melton.

As Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice writes, when Melton first replaced Maxey in the starting five, the five-man group that featured Melton, Embiid, James Harden, Tobias Harris, and P.J. Tucker had a clear statistical advantage over the one that had Maxey in Melton’s spot, particularly on defense. However, in recent months, the five-man unit with Maxey alongside those four other starters has been the more effective lineup.

In Neubeck’s view, the Sixers should use the final few weeks of the season to get a long look at both lineups to assess their options entering the playoffs. However, he believes there’s a strong case to be made that it’s time to reincorporate Maxey into the starting five, based on how productive that group has been. Plus, as Neubeck outlines, starting Maxey means he’ll play alongside defensive anchor Embiid more often — that should benefit the young guard, who is frequently targeted on the defensive end.

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

The Sixers look like the clear winners in last year’s James Harden/Ben Simmons trade for the time being, but that could change if Harden leaves in free agency without winning a title in Philadelphia, Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer writes, noting that the Nets still control two of the 76ers’ future first-round picks (in 2023 and 2027) as part of that blockbuster deal.
It looked like Al Horford‘s NBA career might be winding down when he was traded in a salary-dump deal in 2020 following a failed stint in Philadelphia, but the 36-year-old has resurrected his career during his second stint with the Celtics. Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports has the story.
With recent acquisition Jakob Poeltl now part of the Raptors‘ starting lineup, Gary Trent Jr. is the team’s new sixth man. As Doug Smith of The Toronto Star writes, that role looks like Trent’s best fit in Toronto going forward, so it will be interesting to see how it might affect the swingman’s free agency decision if the Raptors make it clear they want him to come off the bench beyond this season.
Scottie Barnes‘ sophomore season got off to a shaky start, but since January 1, the Raptors forward has looked more like the player that won the Rookie of the Year award last spring, as Spencer Davies of BasketballNews.com details.

Atlantic Notes: Simmons, Tatum, Sixers, Brunson

January 14th, 2023 at 7:59am CST by Luke Adams

On Thursday, in their first game since Kevin Durant injured his knee, the Nets fell to Boston by a score of 109-98. In some ways, Ben Simmons was the most effective player on the court for the Nets, racking up 13 assists and nine rebounds while being the only Brooklyn player to register a positive on-court rating (plus-10). However, he also went scoreless on the night, attempting just three field goals.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Simmons admitted he was probably looking to pass too often, acknowledging that he needs to make it more of a priority to “get myself going,” per Nick Friedell of ESPN.

“Being assertive, being aggressive and knowing that my team needs that,” Simmons said when asked what his team needs from him while Durant is out. “I think I’m giving the ball up way too many times when I know who I am, I know I need to get to the rim, get buckets. And that’s also going to help my teammates get them going.”

Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn, who is another one of just 18 players in NBA history to hand out at least 13 assists in a game without scoring a point, wasn’t bothered by Simmons’ performance, suggesting that the team needs him to compensate for Durant’s absence more on the other end of the court.

“My thing is going to be on the defensive end with Ben, the impact that he has to have without Kevin on the floor,” Vaughn said. “… Ben’s got to be able to protect the rim. Ben’s got to be able to be a force for us on the defensive end of the floor, so that we can play small, play three guards out there, so we can have shooting around.”

Here’s more from around the Atlantic:

Jaylen Brown isn’t the only Celtics star battling an injury — forward Jayson Tatum is dealing with issues affecting his thumb, ring finger, and wrist, but says he intends to continue playing through those ailments, per Jay King of The Athletic (Twitter link).
In his latest mailbag for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Keith Pompey explores a handful of Sixers-related topics, including the team’s biggest need at the trade deadline and whether De’Anthony Melton could replace P.J. Tucker in the starting lineup. Pompey believes Philadelphia could use a reliable backup point guard and a big, physical center to back up Joel Embiid, and says he doesn’t expect Tucker to be removed from the starting five.
Jalen Brunson has only been with the Knicks for about six months, but it’s clear that they’re already his team, according to Ian O’Connor of The New York Post, who says Brunson is the best player on the roster and “it isn’t close.” The point guard has been at his best since returning from a recent three-game injury absence, averaging 33.3 PPG on .522/.500/.809 shooting in his last six contests, five of which were Knicks wins.

Sixers Notes: Melton, Maxey, Tucker, Harden

December 23rd, 2022 at 9:06am CST by Luke Adams

When the Sixers gave up a first-round pick and Danny Green‘s expiring contract for De’Anthony Melton, they knew they were getting a strong defender who could make a three-point shot, but the former Grizzlies guard has given them “more connective tissue in the half court” than they might have expected, writes ESPN’s Zach Lowe (Insider link).

Melton’s play-making and screening ability has been valuable for Philadelphia, according to Lowe, who notes that the team has scored an average of 1.2 points when a Melton screen leads directly to a shot. That’s 17th among 244 players who have set 50 such screens, Lowe writes, citing Second Spectrum. The 24-year-old has also handed out a career-best 3.3 assists per game.

Melton’s presence has helped the 76ers withstand injury absences for James Harden and Tyrese Maxey in the early part of the 2022/23 season. Despite not opening the season as part of Philadelphia’s starting five, Melton has made 20 starts in 27 appearances so far.

Here’s more on the Sixers:

Given how well the 76ers have played with Melton in the starting lineup (they have a 13-7 record in those games), there has been some speculation about the possibility of bringing Maxey off the bench as the leader of the second unit when he returns from his foot injury. Kyle Neubeck of PhillyVoice.com considers the case for making such a move, but ultimately concludes that it’s probably not in the team’s best interest.
In his latest mailbag for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Keith Pompey also argues against making Maxey the sixth man once he’s healthy. Pompey’s mailbag explores several other topics, including whether the Sixers’ three-year, $33MM+ investment in P.J. Tucker will turn out as poorly as the four-year, $109MM deal they gave Al Horford in 2019 — given the relative size of the two deals, Pompey believes there’s no comparison between the two, especially since Horford was never a good fit, while Tucker is beginning to show overall improvement in his role.
In his first seven games back from a foot injury, Harden has averaged nearly 39 minutes per night. However, head coach Doc Rivers isn’t concerned about the former MVP’s heavy recent workload, per Noah Levick of NBC Sports Philadelphia. “I’ll guarantee you, by the end of the year, you’ll look at his numbers and they’ll look great,” Rivers said. “It’s a whole year. That’s why we can’t overdo things when guys have a three-week spike in minutes and all of a sudden we’re overreacting to that. You don’t. We’ve been low on guards, and so guys have to play minutes. And James is one of those guys that can handle minutes. But by the end of the year, his minutes will be down.”