The Philadelphia 76ers made their first move of the offseason when they sent Danny Green and the No. 23 pick in Thursday’s draft to the Memphis Grizzlies to acquire De’Anthony Melton.
The Sixers acquired a four-year veteran who is a legitimate player at both ends of the court and who they can count on to bolster the bench in the 2022-23 season. Melton averaged 10.8 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 37.4% from deep in 73 games during the 2021-22 season with 15 starts.
Sixers Wire gave its grade on the acquisition of Melton. Now it’s time to take a look at what the other experts are saying about the addition for the Sixers.
The Athletic gave its thoughts on the move and it gave Philadelphia an A-plus for the trade:
Since coming into the NBA in 2018, Melton is the only player in the league to log at least 200 games while shooting at least 36.0 percent from 3-point range and grabbing a 3.0 percent steal rate. He’s one of just five players in NBA history to play at least 200 games with a 36.0 percent or better 3-point accuracy and a steal rate of at least 3.0 percent. Chris Paul, John Stockton, Charlie Ward and Pablo Prigioni are the other four.
In his last two seasons, Melton improved to 38.8 percent on 583 attempts from downtown. He doesn’t turn the ball over nearly as much as he used to. He’s a good rebounder for his size and position. Overall, Melton is just an extremely valuable role player, and he has two more seasons under contract at a total of $16.5 million, which is a great value.
He’ll fit nicely next to James Harden. He’ll fit nicely next to Tyrese Maxey. And you can even play him with both guys on the floor at the same time. The odds of the Sixers getting a ready-made player at 23 in this draft were very low. That’s how you execute.
The last line is very important. Selecting a player at No. 23 and then hoping he becomes a part of the rotation is far-fetched. There is a lot riding on the next 2-to-3 seasons: Philadelphia has to ensure a championship while Joel Embiid is upright and among the best players in the league. Melton fills that need for a win-now player for their bench unit.
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This post originally appeared on Sixers Wire! Follow us on Facebook!
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