Warriors to reevaluate veteran guard in four weeks

After Anthony Slater of ESPN reported earlier Wednesday that De’Anthony Melton is still in the late stage of his rehab process following last season’s ACL tear and is expected to miss the start of the season, the Golden State Warriors have confirmed as much.

According to the team, the plan is to reevaluate Melton in four weeks. Head coach Steve Kerr said Wednesday that the veteran guard will “hopefully be ready sometime in the next couple months,” per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.

The Warriors’ timeline for Melton indicates he’ll miss at least the first week of the regular season and will likely remain sidelined for longer than that. Based on Kerr’s remarks, it sounds like a best-case scenario would see Melton back on the floor for the team at some point in November.

Melton, who signed a one-year, $12.8M contract with the Warriors during the 2024 offseason, appeared in just six games for the team before tearing his left ACL on Nov. 12. The 27-year-old also missed a significant portion of the 2023-24 season due to a back issue and has appeared in just 14 regular season and playoff games since the calendar flipped to 2024, so it’s safe to assume Golden State won’t rush his ramp-up period.

Melton signed a new two-year, minimum-salary contract with the Warriors earlier Wednesday. The deal, which includes a second-year player option, had been rumored for months and was made official only after Jonathan Kuminga‘s restricted free agency standoff was resolved, giving the team clarity on its salary cap situation.

Brandin Podziemski, Gary Payton II, Buddy Hield and Moses Moody are among the Warriors guards who are candidates to play increased roles early in the season with Melton unavailable.