De’Anthony Melton Solidifies Himself As Grizzlies’ Sixth-Man

While Ja Morant is obviously the face of the Memphis Grizzlies franchise and the star in the backcourt for them, De’Anthony Melton is a guard entering his third-year and could be primed for a major breakout year. This offseason, after spending all of last season with Memphis, the Grizzlies re-signed Melton to a four-year, $35M deal and have some big plans for the 22-year old. 

Last season, Melton played in 60 games for the Grizzlies during the regular season, averaging 7.6 points, 3.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists and shooting 40.1% from the floor. Melton has struggled to shoot from the perimeter early on in his career, only shooting 29.4% from deep in 110 career games, but he has an extremely quick first-step and uses his athleticism to get to the rim. 

De’Anthony Melton is also a decent playmaker who is more than capable of leading a second-unit in the NBA. With the Grizzlies signing Melton to a long-term contract, they not only have an idea in mind for what they want to use the young point guard for moving forward, but it could also mean that Tyus Jones could be on the move sooner than later. 

Jones signed a three-year, $26M deal with the Grizzlies last year and while he served as the Grizzlies back-up point guard for most of the season, he will definitely be competing with Melton for minutes this year. Given Melton’s athleticism and scoring ability with the ball in his hands, it will be hard for the Grizzlies to keep him off the court this season and should be a fantastic, reliable point guard behind Ja Morant.