Melo Trimble had three stellar seasons at Maryland before declaring for the NBA Draft.
On Thursday evening, the former Terrapin star failed to hear his name called during the 60-pick event. However, shortly after the NBA Draft concluded, Trimble agreed to a free agent contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Undrafted guard Melo Trimble of Maryland has agreed to a free-agent deal with Philadelphia, league sources tell ESPN.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 23, 2017
Trimble will play for the 76ers’ Summer League team next month.
The former Terp worked out for several NBA teams leading up to Thursday’s draft. The 76ers were among those squads and certainly could factor in their future plans.
Trimble is coming off a junior season in which he averaged 16.8 points, 3.7 assists, and 3.6 rebounds for the Terps. He played off-the-ball quite a bit more due to the emergence of freshman guard Anthony Cowan.
Philadelphia has become famous around the league for “The Process.” Over the past few seasons, they’ve been consistently picking in the lottery portion of the draft.
During that time, they’ve drafted the likes of Joel Embiid, Dario Saric, and Ben Simmons. On Thursday, the 76ers selected former DeMatha standout Markelle Fultz after acquiring the number one pick from the Boston Celtics in a trade.
Philadelphia does have a few serviceable guards on their current roster, but Trimble certainly will have an ample chance to make the team. Jerryd Bayless, Gerald Henderson, T.J. McConnell, Sergio Rodriguez, and Nik Stauskas currently comprise the team’s backcourt.
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There’s a few veterans in that group, but aside from maybe McConnell, they don’t have the upside that Trimble does. Even if Trimble doesn’t make the roster, he would definitely have a chance to grow on Philadelphia’s D-League team in Delaware.