Sixers Trade No. 23 Overall Pick, Danny Green to Grizzlies for De’Anthony Melton

By Matt Gregan, Sports Talk Philly 76ers Editor

The Philadelphia 76ers, after much speculation in recent days, pulled the trigger on a trade on draft night. The team, according to multiple reports, acquired guard De'Anthony Melton from the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for the No. 23 overall pick (David Roddy) in the NBA Draft and veteran wing Danny Green.

Melton played a key reserve role off the bench for the Grizzlies last season. In 22.7 minutes per game, he averaged 10.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.4 steals while shooting 37.4% from 3-point range on 5.1 attempts per game. He is a proven outside shooter, connecting on 38.8% of his 3-pointers over his last two seasons.

He is also known for being a solid defender who plays with physicality and, despite being listed at just 6-foot-2, is capable of guarding multiple positions. He has a 6-foot-8 wingspan which, when combined with his defensive intensity, allows him to play bigger than his size would indicate.

The second-round pick, now reunited with Daryl Morey who originally drafted him to the Houston Rockets back in 2018, will likely slot into the Sixers' rotation as the sixth man. However, he is a good enough defender for the team to be able to potentially run some three-guard lineups composed of him, James Harden and Tyrese Maxey next season.

Melton has a cap hit of $8.25 million next season and $8 million in 2023-24. In order to make the salaries work, the Sixers had to give up Green ($10 million cap hit) in the deal. Green provided some good minutes during his time in Philadelphia, although it came to an unfortunate end when he tore both his ACL and LCL in his left knee early on in Game 6 against the Miami Heat. His outside shooting and veteran presence in the locker room will surely be missed.

The addition of Melton to the roster will make it much more difficult for the team to gain access to the non-taxpayer mid-level extension valued at roughly $10 million.

Sixers would lose non-taxpayer MLE with this trade unless there are other salary-subtracting moves, which might dampen their P.J. Tucker prospects.

— John Hollinger (@johnhollinger) June 24, 2022

The Sixers, assuming Harden opts into his $47.4 million player option as reports indicate, will have roughly $4 million available in free agency after the Melton trade according to Bryan Toporek of Forbes Sports. There are still some ways Morey can clear up enough cap space to reach the NTMLE, but doing so became significantly more difficult after the team offloaded Green's $10 million cap hit in this trade.

The Sixers do not currently have a second-round pick in Thursday's NBA Draft, meaning they are likely done for the night. Acquiring Melton was a good move for the Sixers as it vastly improves their bench and rotation flexibility. With the NBA Draft out of the way, there is just free agency and potential trades left remaining for the Sixers to improve their roster this offseason.