Warriors' De'Anthony Melton to undergo season-ending ACL surgery

After undergoing further testing, the Warriors have determined that guard De’Anthony Melton will require season-ending surgery for his injured left ACL, Golden State has announced.

The ailment had previously been diagnosed as a sprain, though the fact that it requires such a severe treatment suggests it may be more significant.

Melton was only signed to a one-year contract, using the Warriors’ full $12.8M mid-level exception. He will be a free agent this summer, having played all of six games for a surging Golden State squad.

Melton could potentially now be used as an expiring contract, should the Warriors want to acquire a win-now roster addition to capitalize on their surprisingly robust season start.

The 6-foot-2 USC alum averaged 10.3 points on .407/.371/.625 shooting splits, along with 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in those six matchups, across just 20.2 minutes per.

At 10-3, the Warriors are currently the No. 1 seed in a crowded Western Conference. Melton, when healthy, had served as a core component of that early success.

As The Athletic’s Anthony Slater notes, Golden State head coach Steve Kerr had anointed Melton as his preferred starting shooting guard next to All-NBA point guard Stephen Curry.

Lindy Waters III earned the starting two-guard nod in Golden State’s most recent game, a 102-99 loss to the Clippers. Kerr could also explore elevating another recent free agent acquisition, microwave scorer Buddy Hield, or 2024 All-Rookie guard Brandin Podziemski.