De’Anthony Melton, defensive ace, excited to head into free agency after injury-plagued season with Sixers

The Sixers have a salary-cap hold of $15.2 million on the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. Melton stands to command more on the open market.

Sixers guard De'Anthony Melton has built a reputation as a shutdown defender.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Keith Pompey

Published May 20, 2024, 5:00 a.m. ET

De’Anthony Melton is eager to see what awaits him in free agency.

The 76ers shooting guard was one of the league’s best defenders this past season before he missed 44 games with a spine injury. Melton believes the small sample size combined with his success the previous season should give teams a strong sense of what he brings to the table.

“I feel like I established myself in the league in understanding what I do, what I bring to the table,” Melton said. “So I think everybody knows that. … You never know.”

Assuming his back checks out during physicals, there’s a sense that Melton will make more than the $8.6 million he averaged the last four seasons. The Sixers have a salary-cap hold of $15.2 million on the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent.

Bleacher Reports predicted that the soon-to-be 26-year-old could garner around $60 million, presumably over four seasons, on his next deal as a lockdown defender in the prime of his career.

The Sixers have only three players — Joel Embiid, Paul Reed, and Ricky Council IV — under contract for next season. They’ll also sign All-Star point guard Tyrese Maxey to a lucrative contract. But unlike Embiid and Maxey, Reed and Council will be on non-guaranteed deals. So the Sixers, who are expected to sign a maximum-salary player to pair with Embiid and Maxey, could have close to $65 million available in free agency. Their main targets are Los Angeles Clippers swingman Paul George and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James, if they opt out of their 2024-25 deals.

“I would love to [come back to the Sixers], but it’s not up to me and I understand that,” Melton said. “It is what it is and I understand that it’s a business. So I’ll roll with whatever.”

But Melton has elevated his NBA profile after being acquired from the Memphis Grizzlies in a trade on June 24, 2022, for Danny Green and first-round pick David Roddy.

A tenacious defender, Melton was supposed to give former coach Doc Rivers the option of pairing him with either James Harden or Maxey, bringing perimeter toughness off the bench. An elite off-ball defender, the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder used his 6-9 wingspan to be disruptive in passing lanes and to grab rebounds in Memphis.

However, because of injuries and Rivers tweaking the lineup, Melton started a career-high 58 games during the 2022-23 season. He averaged 10.1 points and 1.6 steals while shooting 39% on three-pointers.

This past season, Melton averaged 11.1 points and 1.6 steals while shooting 36% on three-pointers in 38 games with 33 starts. He was second in the league in steals and among the deflection leaders before he played in just seven games since Dec. 30 because of his back ailment. But perhaps his best stat was the Sixers’ 22-11 record with him in the starting lineup.

“Establishing myself as a starter was real important to me coming into this year,” he said, “and I felt like I was doing that. ... I was just getting rolling and understanding what I have to do to win games for this team.

“For this caliber of a city, winning games is the most important thing. It was fun and I understand what needs to be done and I think that’s the most important thing.”

The Sixers’ season concluded after six games in a first-round playoff series loss to the New York Knicks. Melton was cleared to play in Game 3 but did not have his number called.

He had zero points on 0-for-2 shooting along with one assist and one rebound in 7 minutes, 11 seconds of reserve action in Game 4. Melton did not play in Games 5 and 6.

" I think just starting out my summer focusing on my back, my body,” he said of his offseason plans. “Not even just my back, but my body in general. Understanding what I need to do to be fully healthy. To be fully good so starting with that and I think just I’m the type of person that I like to work on everything.

“You guys all know my type of game. I like to do everything on the court so in the offseason, I just work on everything just to be ready for whatever the case may be.”