Melton could be the steal of the draft, and boy do the Nuggets need that badly right now as they set their sights on another playoff miss despite endless young talent and an offseason investment in veteran Paul Millsap. The USC sophomore was suspended as a result of the FBI investigation into NCAA fraud before the season and left school in February to focus on training for the draft.
It appears the extra time on the court has paid off. ESPN writer Mike Schmitz spent time with Melton this week and though we only have one Twitter video to base our new opinions off of at this point with the corresponding written piece still not released on ESPN, there’s a lot to like in Melton’s restructured shooting form.
Spent the afternoon watching De’Anthony Melton workout here in Atlanta. Interview, workout footage, and article coming soon on ESPN. pic.twitter.com/DaLWI7SNCd
— Mike Schmitz (@Mike_Schmitz) March 26, 2018
The first video is a spot-up attempt from Melton’s freshman season, and the second is his new-look shot as seen by Schmitz. The biggest change is that there is far less extraneous motion — the jump, release and landing are all one fluid, connected thing. The guide hand is more involved in the release and follow-through, and Melton jumps far less high in the air on his shot.
In Denver, Melton’s swiss army knife archetype would fit naturally with Jamal Murray and Gary Harris in the backcourt.