Warriors in desperate need for potential starter after latest injury update
Posted November 21, 2025
The Golden State Warriors might be in desperate need for more high-level role players than another star, such has been the inconsistent nature of their roster beyond the veteran trio of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green.
Fortunately one potential starter-level player is nearing a return, with the Warriors providing an update on veteran guard De'Anthony Melton just prior to Wednesday's 110-96 loss to the Miami Heat at Kayesa Center.
De'Anthony Melton is likely to return for the Warriors next month
Golden State's update on Melton revealed that he'll be re-evaluated in another 10 days time, having recently practiced and scrimmaged in Santa Cruz, along with being a regular presence on the Warrior bench through their first 17 games of the season.
ESPN's Anthony Slater also reported in the aftermath of the media release that "some time in December has been a floating target for his (Melton's) return." With over a year having already passed since suffering a torn ACL against the Dallas Mavericks on November 12 last year, there is growing anticipation surrounding Melton's return and what he could potentially provide the Warriors over the second-half of the season.
That anticipation is only rising after back-to-back defeats for Golden State to the Orlando Magic, followed by the 14-point loss to the Heat where they were without veterans Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Al Horford, along with young forward Jonathan Kuminga who has now missed four-straight games due to knee tendinitis.
The Warriors' role players have been inconsistent to put in nicely so far this season, potentially opening up an opportunity for Melton if he can return anywhere near his best form. Moses Moody has developed into a starting player with some big performances, but also combined for just 15 points on 21 shots over the recent back-to-back.
Brandin Podziemski hasn't taken the leap many had hoped for and is coming off the bench as a result, leaving rookie guard Will Richard as a shock member of the starting lineup despite being taken 56th overall in the draft just six months ago.
Melton has started in 93 of his last 121 games in the NBA, including two with the Warriors last season before his devastating knee injury. Whether he can return anywhere near the player he was is a big question mark given his injury history, but the desperation for that to happen is becoming palpable as the current role players struggle.
Ben Johnson's humbling return to Detroit reminds him how hard his job is in Chicago
It was a humbling return for Ben Johnson on Sunday as he faced the team that brought him to NFL stardom and got him the head coaching job with the Chicago Bears. But aside from scoring 21 points, it’s a return to Detroit he won’t keep in the long term memory bank as his new team got slapped around by his old team, losing 52-21 and dropping to 0-2. The loss will sting more than anything because it’s a reminder how hard his job is in Chicago.
When Johnson took over the Bears, everyone expected him to instantly make this team better. The expectations on him only made his job harder, but the truth is, he’s going to need more than two games and maybe more than one season to get Chicago out of their losing ways and into a new era built on winning. That said, the loss to Detroit is a reminder of what he left behind and the journey he has to get back to the top.
Ben Johnson got a sobering reality check in return to his former team
It wasn’t the best way to come back to his old team. You can’t blame Detroit for playing a phenomenal game either. They wanted to prove that despite a lackluster Week 1, they’re good with Johnson. There was a lot of talk about how bad Detroit’s offense looked against the Green Bay Packers in Week 1. They had to prove they were good and they did just that.
As for Johnson, it was a game in which he had to prove the Bears were making progress. They built an 11-point lead in Week 1 and lost to the Minnesota Vikings. This time around, he was tasked with showing his old team his new one could be just as good as them. That didn’t quite work out, and now Johnson gets hit with the reality his job isn’t easy in Chicago.
It was always going to be hard for Ben Johnson to replicate his success in Chicago
There was a lot of speculation that Ben Johnson was trying to build the Chicago Bears just like the Detroit Lions roster on offense. Whether that was intentional or not, I don’t know, but he needs more than a carbon copy of the team he had in Detroit to play like them. The Bears have a lot of work to improve their offense.
Caleb Williams finished with just 207 passing yards and two touchdown passes. Rome Odunze did have more than 120 receiving yards, but the problem is the Bears can’t score. What made the Lions offense so lethal is they had a two-headed monster in the backfield and three or four receivers that could hurt teams all over the field.
This Bears offense isn’t built like that, but it can get there and that’s why Bears fans and even NFL fans have to be patient.
The Detroit Lions offense wasn’t built in a day and neither is the Chicago Bears
I think the biggest takeaway Johnson has from a frustrating division loss to the Lions on Sunday is how important patience is. Johnson can’t rush his team's development. The Bears aren’t in a position to be a playoff team right now. They can get there, but they’ll need time.
This is a new coach, new style and culture and that’s going to take time to turn into wins. Sunday’s loss was a reminder that two games isn’t enough to get this team back on track. It’s not ideal he had this realization against his former team, but sometimes you have to go back where it all started to figure out your course of action.
Johnson went back to Detroit and realized this team isn’t the Detroit Lions. That said, they can have the same success the Lions had under him, it’s just going to take time and patience.
