Social media evidence suggests guard could seek Warriors return

De’Anthony Melton followed the Warriors on Instagram. That means he’s coming back, right?

The Golden State Warriors’ quiet offseason could be kicking into gear, or at least the rumors are, with some big news that a former guard is interested in reuniting with the Dubs.

Jake Fischer and Marc Stein reported that the Warriors are a “strong contender” to sign guard De’Anthony Melton, the veteran guard who tore his ACL after just six games with the Dubs last season. But there’s much stronger evidence than the reports from two well-connected NBA insiders.

That’s right. X user @babyfacedubs AKA “Curry Flurry” delivered the scoop that Melton has followed the Golden State Warriors on Instagram. We’ve investigated independently and learned that while Melton follows the NBA Players Association, the legendary Magic City strip club in Atlanta, NerdWallet, Snoop Dogg, various NBA players, the Minnesota Vikings, and Philadelphia 76ers mascot, Franklin the Dog, the Warriors are the only NBA team Melton is following.

According to @babyfacedubs, Melton unfollowed the Warriors after they traded him to the Brooklyn Nets last December for Dennis Schroder. Now the Warriors are back in Melton’s feed and the combo guard may be back in the Warriors’ plans.

There are other reasons to believe Melton could be a good fit in San Francisco. The main one is that he was a great fit last season in his limited time, able to handle the ball, defend at the point of attack, and sink three-pointers. The Warriors had to scramble to replace him, bringing in Schroder for an unsuccessful few months before eventually packaging Schroder with Andrew Wiggins and two other players to get Jimmy Butler.

ClutchPoints reported five days ago that there was a “growing expectation” that the Los Angeles Lakers would sign Melton, but that interest seems to have cooled as the Lakers seem to have turned their attention to Bradley Beal, the suddenly-available former All-Star guard.

Beal’s decision will impact a number of veteran guards who are still in limbo, many of them looking at the veteran’s minimum. Players like Malcolm Brogdon, Russell Westbrook, and even Ben Simmons are in that group, along with Melton, who likely needs to prove his knee is healthy. The upside for Melton and this group of guards is that the 2026 offseason looks to have more teams with cap space than this summer, so a solid season on a make-good deal could pay off.

Of course, Melton may have thought he was proving himself with the one-year deal he signed with the Warriors last summer. That one was a $12.8M mid-level exception deal. Given the lack of remaining teams with money to spend, it’s probably a question of where Melton feels comfortable and has a role than any financial considerations.

Which takes us to Instagram. Perhaps Melton is checking out the team’s vibe via social media, where the team has featured its players hanging out at the California Classic, tributes to Kevon Looney, and even a video of country music rapper Jelly Roll discussing which former Warriors would make the best drummer.

Unfortunately, Melton doesn’t follow Jelly Roll on Instagram. Yet.