Warriors’ De’Anthony Melton out indefinitely with sprained ACL in left knee

De’Anthony Melton, who recently moved into the Golden State Warriors’ starting lineup, has suffered a sprained MCL in his left knee. He was listed on the Warriors’ injury report as out for Friday’s matchup with the Memphis Grizzlies.

The team has not yet announced a timetable for Melton’s recovery, pending further tests on his knee.

Melton, 26, suffered the injury during Tuesday’s 120-117 win over the Dallas Mavericks, though it’s uncertain when exactly he was hurt. The seven-year veteran finished the game with 14 points, four assists and four rebounds in 26 minutes of play.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr recently put Melton in the starting lineup at shooting guard. In the two games he started, Melton averaged 16.5 points with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals. For the season, he is Golden State’s fifth-leading scorer at 10.3 points per game, fourth on the team in assists (2.8) and second in steals (1.2). Melton is also shooting 37% on 3-pointers on 35 attempts.

However, Melton has missed five of the Warriors’ 11 games this season with a lower back strain.

“He’s obviously a really important player for us and is a guy who we envisioned as, and has done a good job at, the starting 2-guard,” Kerr said, via ESPN’s Kendra Andrews. “It’s a concern, for sure. We’ll know more over the next few days.”

Melton joined the Warriors on a one-year, $12.8 million contract after playing the past two seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers. He’s also played for the Phoenix Suns and Memphis Grizzlies during his career.

While he’s out, Melton’s minutes are expected to distributed among Brandin Podziemski, Moses Moody and Gary Payton II with the team’s depth at guard.