The Warriors are expected to have a veteran starting-caliber guard return to their lineup on Thursday when they face the 76ers in Philadelphia, but it won’t be Stephen Curry.
De’Anthony Melton, who has missed the first month-plus of the season rehabbing an ACL tear from last year, is set to make his season debut, according to ESPN.
Melton, 27, signed with the Warriors in the offseason as a free agent after suffering the knee injury last November as a Golden State player and being traded to Brooklyn in exchange for Dennis Schröder.
Curry remains out with a thigh injury and will not join the team on its three-game trip to the Eastern Conference, which includes stops in Philly (Thursday), Cleveland (Saturday) and Chicago (Sunday). The Warriors will then return home and not play a game until next Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, thanks to missing out on the NBA Cup quarterfinals.
The team announced last Thursday that Curry would be reevaluated after at least a week for his thigh contusion and strain. The Minnesota game would be just over two weeks after he suffered the injury in a Nov. 26 loss to the Rockets.
Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler is listed as questionable for Thursday’s game after suffering a knee injury in the Warriors’ loss Tuesday night to the Oklahoma City Thunder. He played 15 minutes and sat out the second half after entering the game questionable to play with a glute contusion suffered in Saturday night’s win over New Orleans.
Also questionable for the game are Al Horford (sciatica), Trayce Jackson-Davis (knee tendonitis), Jonathan Kuminga (ankle soreness) and Quinten Post (ankle sprain).