Only the most wildly optimistic fans expected Melo to contribute to this year's playoff run. Fab was always a long-term development project. Danny had two twenties picks--Sullinger was the "battle-ready" immediate help, Melo was the investment in the future. He's three months into a lengthy process that has already been set back by injuries. Bringing him up for a taste and a reality check was shrewd, keeping him longer would only hamper his development. He got his little slice of the roaring crowd, got a three-minute video of how far he has to go, didn't stay long enough to crush his hope, and has returned to his training ground. I would hope/expect another sip of reality when the D-league winds down--maybe enough progress to provide a then/now tease to inspire continued development work. A year-round program, a better showing in the 2013 Summer League play, some bright moments in training camp, and some actual polish in next years' D-league, perhaps weekly (or at least monthly) cameo appearances with the parent club, and maybe some real (non-garbage-time) 5-minute runs next spring. If that is at all accurate as a timetable, then he is more or less on schedule in this lengthy development process. Or for the Chicken-Little crowd--maybe the sky is falling.