De’Anthony Melton is coming off a torn ACL, but if he’s available at the minimum, the Bucks should be first in line. He's the Delon Wright of this free agency market, and even though Wright didn't work out, you make that move ten times out of ten if you're in need of point-of-attack defense like Milwaukee is.
Let's get this offseason's elephant in the room out of the way: Giannis is most likely staying and wants to contend, but the Bucks don’t have cap space. They don’t have picks. They don’t have youth. What they do have is a win-now window shrinking by the season, and a glaring need for backcourt defense.
In short, there are almost no tangible ways for Jon Horst and company to make this team better. And that means they have to be looking where other teams aren't.
That’s what makes De’Anthony Melton such an obvious move.
Melton is an obvious, dirt-cheap fix that might solve a big Bucks' issue
Obviously, Melton is not a splashy name.
He’s not even a safe one — Melton is coming off a season cut short by health issues. But when healthy, he’s a prototype modern guard defender: long, switchable, disruptive, and capable of playing off stars without needing the ball. At just 27, he still has juice, and he fits the mold of the exact type of player Milwaukee keeps losing and failing to replace.
If he’s available at the minimum (and all signs point to that being the case), the Milwaukee Bucks would be insane to pass on him.
Before he went down, Melton was an analytics darling for the Golden State Warriors and was a big reason for their early-season surge that made believers out of doubters. In 20.2 minutes per game through just six games, he put up 10.3 points (37.1 percent from three), 3.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game, which are exactly what you want out of your backup point guard position.
He’s not just your typical “good defender” in this league. He’s the kind of nasty defender Milwaukee’s lacked since Jrue Holiday left. Someone who can chase over screens, defend up a position, and make guards miserable across a playoff series. He’s also a capable connective passer and has quietly become a solid catch-and-shoot threat, especially from the corners.
The numbers more than back this up. Through 119 total minutes for Golden State, opposing teams' offensive ratings went down by nearly ten whole points whenever Melton stepped on the floor. That was good for the 98th percentile among guards, according to Cleaning the Glass.
There are red flags — the injuries, the inconsistent finishing at the rim, the small sample of elite shooting. But this is exactly the kind of bet you make when you’re boxed in by the cap and desperate for upgrades. Milwaukee can’t play it safe and rely on 37-year-old Jae Crowder types anymore. And they need to address their backcourt situation before the season starts.
And Melton, available for the minimum, is the kind of lottery ticket worth scratching.
If he regains even 80 percent of his form, he gives the Milwaukee Bucks a real rotational stabilizer for the playoffs and a defensive edge they completely lacked in their first-round collapse.
Melton won’t command big money this summer, but his defense and versatility could quietly solve a major Milwaukee Bucks' issue. Obviously, the injury might scare some teams off. For the Bucks, it’s exactly the type of low-risk bet they should make.
For a team that has no other options, Melton should be at the very top of the bargain bin wishlist.