The 4 most underpaid Philadelphia 76ers next season
4. De’Anthony Melton – $8 million
Somehow, De’Anthony Melton has quietly gone under the radar as one of the league’s best value role players. Last season, he started in 58 of his 77 appearances in the regular season for Philly and still played a key role in the playoffs despite a demotion to the bench.
Melton is expected to reprise his switchy role in the upcoming campaign as a malleable stopgap in the backcourt and in the wing positions. Even with Beverley potentially cannibalizing into his role to some degree, the 76ers will undeniably tout a healthy dose of Melton in varying configurations.
A true three-and-D guard, Melton was one of the most reliable perimeter threats for the Sixers last season, canning 39 percent of his triples — a mark which he sustained in the postseason where he registered a 38.8 percent clip from rainbow country. His ability to also impact the floor as an ancillary playmaker when needed also provided Philadelphia with much-needed variance against opponents cramping up on the bigger names on the roster.
Fortunately, Melton should be a stabilizer for a 76ers squad bombarded with question marks. Even more importantly, the team is lucky to have someone as cool and steady as him without the suffocating price tag for now.