Why Experts Love What Morey Did During NBA Draft originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The sixers entered the NBA Draft Thursday night with a late-first-round pick and some questions about their roster construction.
They ended the night with a 24 year old gunman in De’Anthony Melton who excels in defense and has 235 games of NBA experience while releasing $10 million worth of injured veteran Danny Green.
Good luck!
RELATED: Daryl Morey Touches What’s Next After Melton Deal
Daryl Morey, president of Basketball Operations at Sixers, is probably still working on bigger moves (as the buzz leading up to draft night indicated), but his ability to turn fringe assets into valuable pieces better suited to the current timeline of the game. team, is unique and special.
That’s why, when the draft numbers started rolling in on Friday morning, the Sixers were a team that was regularly credited as one of the champions of draft… even though they didn’t pick a pick.
Let’s scour the sports web and see what they’re saying about Morey’s performance Thursday night:
4. Which pre-draft or draft-night trade will have the greatest impact?
Lopez: Philadelphia traded two players likely to have minimal impact next season — Colorado State striker David Roddy, who they drew with the No. 23 pick, and Danny Green, who had a torn ACL in the playoffs of 2022 — for someone who can make an immediate contribution to De’Anthony Melton next season. The 24-year-old Melton averaged 10.8 points and 4.5 rebounds in Memphis last season, both career highlights as he added more minutes. lost the ball with the Grizzlies.
Bontemps: I’m going with Philadelphia and turning Danny Green and the No. 23 pick into De’Anthony Melton. Trading Green, who will unfortunately almost certainly miss the season with a knee injury, into a young, athletic winger in Melton – who is perfect fits as a defender alongside James Harden and Tyrese Maxey – was a great thing for Daryl Morey, president of basketball operations of the 76ers.”
15. Philadelphia 76ers | Grade: B+
“The 76ers traded their number 23 overall pick to the Grizzlies for reserve guard DeAnthony Melton, and that’s a win for Philly. The Sixers would probably target a guard with the number 23 pick and while there were some talented guards available, no one would immediate impact that a defender and playmaker like Melton will have.”
“This is a great pick-up for the Sixers. Green tore his ACL and LCL back in mid-May. Maybe he’ll come back next season or maybe he’ll decide to retire after 13 years in the NBA and three championships. He was unlikely to do that.” would do.” contribute to Philadelphia this season, so they move his paycheck to the 23rd pick, ending up at De’Anthony Melton.
“He’ll fit nicely next to James Harden. He’ll fit nicely next to Tyrese Maxey. And you can even play him on the floor with both guys at once. The chances of the Sixers getting a ready-made player at 23 in this draft were very low, as you perform.
“Rank: A-plus”
“Winner: Philadelphia
“Philadelphia needs to win now, and after offering Danny Green and the No. 23 pick to nearly every team in the league in exchange for veteran help, they finally ended up with De’Anthony Melton. The 76ers couldn’t have asked for better wishes. package.
Melton, just 24, has shot just under 39 percent from behind the arch in the past two seasons. He was already a very strong point-of-attack defender who steals and blocks like few guards in the game. Now he’s going to a Philadelphia team that needs him after playing just 22.7 minutes per game next season. Expect that figure to rise.”
Those are rave reviews!
I think those assessments are correct. Melton isn’t a household name like Eric Gordon or PJ Tucker, two players the Sixers were linked with before Thursday night, but he’s arguably more attractive than either: a young, solid two-way player with two years of team control and the perfect skills to pair with a Joel Embiid -James Harden star duo? It’s not an earth-shattering move by Morey, but it’s definitely a great one.
Also, for what it’s worth, Melton seems pretty excited to be here:
When he does his job, the California native has a fan favorite written about him. Good stuff.