PHILADELPHIA — The Philadelphia 76ers pulled off a nice move on draft night in June when they sent Danny Green and the 23rd pick in the 2022 draft to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for De’Anthony Melton. The Sixers needed more contributors at both ends, and Melton has answered that call in Philadelphia.
Melton is averaging 10.5 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.7 steals while shooting 40% from deep in his first season with the Sixers. He has started in 46 of the 55 games he has played, and he has been a very nice complement to James Harden and Joel Embiid.
Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins expressed his happiness for how well Melton has been playing for Philadelphia.
“A joy to coach,” Jenkins said of Melton. “He’s got so many intangibles. He’s a Swiss army knife, credit to him how he’s fitting great here and you’re one with the Sixers. He just kind of adapted to different roles in his time with us in Memphis. Whether it was coming off the bench, whether it was starting, he was always a guy that was like kind of a super sub for us.”
Melton has taken what he has done in Memphis and applied it to his new role with the Sixers.
“He was a guy that continued to get better defensively, taking on different matchups each year,” Jenkins added. “Offensively, he was instant offense for us. He was a guy that we always talked about three-minute Melt. He could go out there and really change the game. Not just with his defensive intangibles, but also his shooting ability.”
With the Sixers, Melton has had to take on the opposition’s best scorer on a nightly basis and he has also had to show off some playmaking skills due to the injuries to Harden and Tyrese Maxey. He has had to handle the ball more and Philadelphia has been benefiting from his play.
“He really got a whole lot better with his 3-point shooting, growing his playmaking ability, too,” Jenkins finished. “Obviously, that’s been featured a bit earlier in the season. I think when Maxey and Harden were out a little bit, but just tons of credit to him. He was an ultimate glue guy for us. A really good pro, great teammate, he had great energy, and obviously added to that fun and swag that the Grizzlies stand for.”
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