With Warriors guard De'Anthony Melton set to undergo season-ending ACL surgery, Golden State faces uncertainty as it looks to build upon a scorching start to the 2024-25 NBA season.
But Warriors general manager Mike Dunleavy has faith a next-man-up mentality will keep the 10-3 team rolling after several key offseason additions -- though he didn't appear to rule out a potential move as the Feb. 5 NBA trade deadline approaches.
"I think our thing with Steph [Curry] and Draymond [Green] is you're always looking to surround them with the right players, and you want to get the best, most talented players to do that with," Dunleavy told Bonta Hill, Festus Ezeli and Chris Mullin during "Warriors Pregame Live" on Wednesday. "You're going to look at all different options. You're going to call teams, you're going to pursue these players, but you're not always going to be able to acquire them via trade, so you got to look at other avenues.
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"And I think we feel really good about the team we put together through free agency, and then really from growth within. You talk about our young players growing. You talk about some of our middle-aged vets, the [Andrew] Wiggins, the [Kevon] Looneys, the [Gary] Paytons -- those guys are back and playing as good as they ever have.
"So that's how you get to a point of getting off to a 10-3 start and feeling good about your team, and we'll see where it goes from here, but I think that the plan is working. And maybe we still have some work to do."
Even though the Warriors lost out on marquee players such as Lauri Markkanen and Paul George this offseason, Dunleavy was able to acquire pieces in free agency that have helped Golden State jump out of the gates with a winning record and current first-place standing in the Western Conference.
And while Melton was one of those key additions -- especially after securing a spot in coach Steve Kerr's starting rotation -- Dunleavy is confident the Warriors' other offseason acquisitions will continue to produce in his "unfortunate" absence.
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"I think [Melton] was starting to fit in really well, and [that's] a big reason we, you know, went after him this summer for the way we feel like he could play offensively and defensively, so it's a big loss for us," Dunleavy said. "But like you said, we have good depth and the next man up will step up, and we'll take it from there."
Melton had secured a spot in Kerr's starting rotation before going down with a sprained left ACL on Nov. 12, for which the Warriors announced Wednesday he'll need season-ending surgery. Now, other additions like Buddy Hield, Kyle Anderson and Lindy Waters, as well as the rest of Golden State, will need to step up.