2018 NBA Mock Draft: Enter the madness
29. . G. USC. De'Anthony Melton. 17. player
Melton is another player who will not be participating in the tournament, having stepped away from USC earlier this year (and the team being left out anyway). However, as I’ve mentioned in this space all season, Melton showed plenty last year to be considered between 10 and 20.
The Spurs are not typically a team to reach based on potential, often taking players with more prolific careers in college or overseas. That said, Melton stands out as a fit to make San Antonio more competitive against the top Western Conference teams. Plus, as someone who’s really just a jump shot away from being a very productive overall player, Melton landing in San Antonio is as good a fit for the sophomore as any.
The Dejounte Murray experiment has produced uneven results for the Spurs this year, and none of their other young guards has exceeded expectations either. It would be smart of San Antonio to throw another dart with a young guard and hope they hit. Not every team needs to be versatile and flexible, and San Antonio has top-line talent in Kawhi Leonard and LaMarcus Aldridge, meaning they could be completely fine with a healthier team.
However, Melton fits the mold of Leonard, Murray and Kyle Anderson — one San Antonio has clearly been prioritizing for years.