The Warriors signed Melton again: not only focusing on the regular season, but also attacking for the championship

Translator's note: The original text was published on NBC. The data in the article are as of the time of the original text (September 28 local time). The dates and times involved are all local time

D'Antoni Melton's long-awaited return to the Warriors has been basically finalized. According to ESPN reporter Shams Charania, citing sources on Sunday evening, he has promised to sign with the Warriors before the start of the 2025-26 season.

When the free agent market opened last year, the Warriors signed a one-year, $12.8 million contract with Melton through a middle class exception. His injury risks were revealed early, but his perfect fit with the team was equally obvious.

The experienced defender came on as a substitute in the first three regular season games of the 2024-25 season and then missed the Warriors' next five games due to similar back problems, which led to him playing only 38 games with the Sixers the previous season. His health return immediately showed the impact he could have on the Warriors. In his first game of return, Melton scored 10 points and three assists in a crushing defeat against the Cavaliers, prompting head coach Steve Cole to take him to the start.

The second game was extraordinary. It was a game that defeated the later champion Thunder with 11 points away. Melton scored 19 points at the time, including 5 of 8 three-pointers and contributed 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. Then, the Warriors welcomed Klay Thompson, who turned to the Mavericks, with a big victory at home, but Melton was injured, which they had not expected at the time.

There is no doubt that Stephen Curry and Thompson, the "Splash Brothers", were the protagonists of the night. Curry was the performer, scoring 12 points in a row at the end of the game, allowing his former teammates to swallow a loss away. Melton is an unsung hero, showing why he can become Curry's new ideal partner.

Before Curry started his scoring frenzy, Melton showed his offense and defense comprehensiveness, first leaning over to score a floor ball, then hitting a key three-pointer to narrow the gap to four points, with less than four minutes left in the game.

In Game 6 of the season, he ended with a plus-negative value of +12, contributing 14 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal. But Melton suffered an injury in the final stage of that victory and was later proven to have an ACL torn, resulting in season reimbursement. The Warriors then used his trade to get Dennis Schroeder, but the team never really filled the void he left behind.

Melton's re-dressing of the Warriors' jersey will make many people in the team happy, especially Curry. This also brings the same question as when he joined the Warriors last year: Who will start with Stephen in the backcourt? The

option is the same as last season. Cole will choose between Melton, Brandin Podjemsky and Buddy Hilde. Everyone has their own characteristics. Melton is undoubtedly the best outside single defender among the three, Podjemsky is the tandemist who really grew up after the Warriors traded Jimmy Butler, while Hilder is one of the most threatening shooters outside the three-point line in the league.

Despite the extremely small sample size, Melton, with his defensive toughness and underrated offense, is exactly what the Warriors need for around Curry. The two played together for 47 minutes, with a net win of 39 points, an offensive efficiency of 136.5, a defensive efficiency of 98.1, and a net efficiency of 38.4. Curry played with Podjemsky in the regular season and had a net efficiency of 10.4 (offensive efficiency 120.0 and defensive efficiency 109.5), while in the 969 minutes he played with Hilder in the regular season, the net efficiency was 9.0 (offensive efficiency 119.3 and defensive efficiency 110.3).

"That's really the perfect combination. Melton did everything, defended with the ball, rebounds, 3-pointers, organization," Cole said in mid-November. "He fits very well, and that's why we signed him." Can Melton immediately take on a lot of playing time and starting roles after an ACL surgery and previous back injury? Probably not. Podjemsky, who entered his third season, is likely to be the starter at the beginning of the season.

If so, Hilder will be the daunting shooter on the bench, and Melton will also play a more comprehensive role as a substitute in both ball and off-ball. More likely, all three players will get a starter throughout the season based on their health and counterparts, and it is always more important to finish the game anyway. The Warriors used 38 different starting lineups in the 2024-25 regular season, 11 more than the previous year.

Even if not at the beginning of the game, having Curry and Melton play together must be Cole's priority when playing against a strong team.

The introduction of Melton is not just about the October, November and December games. This is for the regular season sprint phase and a promising impact on the playoff spot and the championship. It's a worthwhile bet in terms of his contract amount, but it's still a gamble for an aging team that is extremely in need of maintaining health.

Author: Dalton Johnson

Translator: GWayNe