Following a largesse to the highest degree in free agency, the Philadelphia 76ers managed to form a hell of an ensemble cast for the 2024-25 season. But unless you have been living under a rock, you are probably already aware of the fact that such has only yielded a grand blunder to the tune of an embarrassing 3-12 record through their first 15 games.
As a result, what was initially widely expected as a genius summer slate for the 76ers front office has become a seemingly moot point. Until the team starts winning consistently, Daryl Morey and company will not be vindicated for the objectively ideal moves they pulled off during the offseason.
Having said that, there is at least one thing — aside from their shrewd decision to draft Jared McCain, who has quickly established himself as the best player in his draft class as of the moment — they got perfectly right thanks to their great foresight.
The 76ers did the right thing letting go of De’Anthony Melton
Last summer, the 76ers saw most of their players enter free agency. While they managed to retain a few, most of them moved on to new places. One name the front office passed up on re-signing was De’Anthony Melton, who went ahead to sign a fresh deal with Golden State.
The Warriors, currently owners of the best record in the West, have been a pleasant surprise thus far, but Melton is nowhere to be found. Unfortunately, the former 76ers guard has already been sidelined for the rest of the season following a knee surgery stemming from a sprained ACL.
Melton had just played six games for the Dubs before his season-ending injury and actually looked solid. Sadly for him, he just could not shrug off his injury-proneness that served as the ultimate reason as to why Philly passed up on him.
The 26-year-old was a great role player for the 76ers in his two-season stint with the franchise, but during his second campaign with Philly, injuries bit him pretty hard, culminating in him losing his starting role for the year prior and eventually making an unflattering exit.
Hopefully, De’Anthony Melton makes a full recovery. He is one of the better and legitimate three-and-D combo guards in the NBA, and he is still young enough to be a consistent contributor for a winning cause for the years to come.
But for now, suffice to say that the Philadelphia 76ers dodged a bullet here.