SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Golden State Warriors guard De’Anthony Melton will require season-ending knee surgery.
The team announced Wednesday that Melton will undergo a procedure soon for a sprained left anterior cruciate ligament that Steve Kerr said is partially torn. Melton, who had missed the last two games, thought about it in recent days according to Kerr.
Tests showed that surgery was the best option, the Warriors said. Melton, who has also dealt with a troublesome back, had been a projected backcourt starter alongside Stephen Curry with Klay Thompson’s departure to Dallas.
“It’s obviously terrible news, I feel so bad for De’Anthony, he’s such a perfect fit for us and we were so excited to have him and he was clearly going to be our starter next to Steph,” Kerr said. “The good news is he’s a young guy and the surgery is pretty routine these days, so he should be able to come back and resume his career really well, but I feel awful for him and bad for us, too.”
Melton played six games with two starts, averaging 10.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 20.2 minutes. He sat out five contests with a strained lower back.
Now, Lindy Waters III — who like Melton is a strong defender aside from his scoring talent — will be a regular starter for now and was in the starting five for Wednesday’s home game against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Warriors will evaluate different combinations going forward to find what works.
“Fortunately we do have a deep team and guys will be ready to step up,” said Kerr, who noted he has been talking to Melton about his own career and the seventh-year guard’s upcoming free agency. “There’s been plenty of conversation behind the scenes. He’s disappointed but he knows this is the right decision. He told me he really spent the last few days trying to wrap his head around it and think about what makes the most sense. This is the right decision, can’t mess around with a partially torn ACL and think that everything’s going to be fine if he just plays through it.”
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