The Los Angeles Lakers need a third guard who can act as the bridge between ball-dominant playmakers Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Doncic and Reaves are willing passers and gifted scorers, but any team with stars whose usage rates surge in the way the Lakers' do needs a third ball-handler to create balance.
By signing De'Anthony Melton during the 2026 period of free agency, Los Angeles would land the ideal player to operate in that exact role while simultaneously fitting their defensive needs.
Melton, 28, has a $3,451,779 player option that he could ultimately accept. In doing so, he'd return to the Golden State Warriors for the 2026-27 season. Considering Golden State went 37-45 and missed the playoffs in 2025-26, however, there's reason to believe he could at least consider leaving—particularly after a solid individual campaign that could yield higher contract offers.
Melton should thus be viewed as something of a priority for a Lakers team that needs a defensive-minded guard who can create offense for himself and others to balance out the current dynamic.
The inside track that the Lakers may potentially get to start on is the fact that Melton is a Los Angeles native who played college basketball at USC. A potential homecoming could thus create the opportunity to negotiate a mutually beneficial contract that factors in his injury history.
If Melton can produce a clean bill of health and the Lakers believe his jump shot can get back to where it was in every other one of his NBA seasons, however, this would be a slam-dunk signing.
De'Anthony Melton offers defense, shot creation, and... Shooting?
Melton shot just 29.4 percent from beyond the arc during the 2025-26 season, which calls his efficacy as a shooter into question. He'd dealt with season-ending injuries in 2023-24 and 2024-25, however, and thus required time to get back into form.
There's reason to believe that he'll be able to do so when considering the fact that, between 2020-21 and 2024-25, Melton shot 38.3 percent on 5.0 three-point field goal attempts per game.
With or without his three-point shooting, Melton is a shot-creating guard who can make life easier for Doncic and Reaves. In 2025-26, he ranked in the 97th percentile in rim shot creation and the 68th percentile in one on one shot making, per Basketball Index. He also shot 50.0 percent on 8.1 drives per game.
For perspective, only three Lakers averaged more than 4.1 drives per game in 2025-26: Doncic, Reaves, and LeBron James.
De'Anthony Melton is the slashing guard defender Lakers lack
In addition to having a balanced offensive game, Melton ranked in the 85th percentile in matchup difficulty as a defender, per Basketball Index. Desite the quality he encountered, he still ranked in the 83rd percentile in perimeter isolation defense, as well as the 97th percentile in ball screen navigation.
For a Lakers team in search of perimeter players who can defend scoring guards, Melton would be a dream addition.
Perhaps the best indication of the well-rounded value that Melton can provide can be found in his per-36 production. In 2025-26, he averaged 19.3 points, 5.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.5 steals, and 2.3 three-point field goals made per 36 minutes. Only his scoring numbers (+2.1) were career-best marks, thus speaking to the sustainability of his statistical output and general ability to impact multiple phases of the game.
With a need for guard defenders, capable scorers, and three-point shooters, one simply can't overlook how much value Melton could provide on a reasonable contract.
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