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Even without any official training camps or offseason workouts in progress, the Philadelphia 76ers are finding ways to stay in shape this offseason. Some, like James Harden, are spending time in the gym, working on conditioning. Others, like Tyrese Maxey, arrived back at the Sixers’ training facility in early August to get in some runs.
And then there’s De’Anthony Melton, who is spending the summer collecting rings.
Okay, maybe not those rings. But on Sunday, the Sixers’ offseason addition won the Drew League Playoffs. The Torrance, California league is regarded as the nation’s premier summer pro-am.
And the competition lived up to that top-tier billing. NBA stars LeBron James, Trae Young, and John Collins headlined a list of strong cameos at the Drew League this summer.
But in the end, it was Melton, along with Wizards guard Delon Wright, who secured the chip. Their team — named Hometown Favorites — trounced Black Pearl Elite 69-55.
It may just be pro-am, but there’s no question Melton is a winning player.
Ja Morant Tweets His Praise
Not only did Melton’s team win the championship game, but the guard also took home individual honors.
Melton was named Player of the Game following a 19-point performance in the finals. He also added five rebounds and four assists to his box score. And after the game, Grizzlies star Ja Morant couldn’t help but send a little love to his former teammate.
“handled bizzz 🤝 my dawg fashoskii,” Morant tweeted.
Morant and Melton were Grizzlies teammates for three seasons, both debuting for Memphis in 2019. Since then, the Grizzlies have been on an upward trajectory, finishing second in the West last season.
Last season, Melton established himself as a reliable bench contributor for Memphis. The USC product averaged a career-best 10.8 points per game on 40% shooting from the field. In addition, his 2.7 assists off the bench should go a long way towards boosting a Sixers bench unit starved for playmaking.
Melton Gives the Sixers Depth on the Wing
To bring Melton to the City of Brotherly Love, the Sixers shipped Danny Green and the draft rights to David Roddy to Memphis. The draft night trade seems to have solved two huge problems for Philadelphia.
On the one hand, the Sixers solved the problem of Green’s availability next season. Green tore both his ACL and LCL in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Heat last season. And Green’s $10 million salary next season would have been a significant hit to the Sixers’ books before the injury.
On the other hand, Melton solves a problem that plagued the Sixers last season: a lack of depth.
As individually excellent as Joel Embiid is, he lacked a deep enough supporting cast throughout the playoffs. But Kevin Pelton of ESPN noted how the addition of Melton (among other moves), reloads the Sixers’ bench for next season.
“In addition to Tucker,” wrote Pelton in an article for ESPN, “the 76ers also signed fellow former Houston Rocket Danuel House Jr. and acquired De’Anthony Melton in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies. The result is a deeper Philadelphia option with more two-way contributors to put around the stars.”
There’s no question the Sixers hope that Melton brings his winning ways to Philadelphia.
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