The Philadelphia 76ers announced their 2022 preseason schedule on Friday, featuring four exhibition games.
The slate begins when the 76ers travel to Brooklyn on Monday, Oct.3, to take on Ben Simmons and the Nets at Barclays Center.
The team then returns home to face Cleveland on Wednesday, Oct. 5, which will be followed by a second meeting with the Cavaliers at 7 p.m. ET on Monday, Oct. 10, on the road at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Philadelphia’s preseason slate wraps up at home against the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, Oct. 12.
The 76ers, led by Joel Embiid, re-signed James Harden, added Danuel House, P.J. Tucker, and D’Anthony Melton in the offseason. Philly hopes to make it to the Eastern Conference finals and NBA Finals for the first time since 2001.
On draft day, the Philadelphia 76ers acquired Grizzlies guard De’Anthony Melton in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies as the team sent draft rights to the number 23 selection in the 2022 NBA Draft (David Roddy) and Danny Green to Memphis.
Last season with Memphis, the 24-year-old Melton averaged career highs across the board with 10.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 1.4 steals in 22.7 minutes per game. His average of 1.4 takeaways per contest led the NBA among players who played in 25-or-fewer minutes per game and also ranked within the league’s top 15 overall.
Over the past two seasons, the fourth-year guard raised his three-point shooting percentage to .388, a significant jump from the .294 mark he posted in his first two career campaigns.
Originally selected by Houston with the No. 46 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft, Melton was traded to Phoenix before the start of the 2018-19 season. According to 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey, Melton will prosper in Philadelphia.
“Heading into the draft, we had a goal of strengthening our rotation and believe we accomplished that by acquiring De’Anthony Melton,” Morey said. “He is a young, tough, and talented two-way player who can impact the game on multiple levels. We think he will thrive here, and we’re excited to add him to our roster,”
Last season, the 76ers did not have a backup point guard and needed additional help off the bench. Melton, who is a two-way player, gives the 76ers just that.
With Joel Embiid and James Harden, who will reportedly opt-in and sign an extension with the team, Philadelphia is built to win now, so essentially, based on this move, they felt no one late in the first round was going to help this team right now.
