Golden State Warriors fans got their first glimpse of prized draft picks Jonathan Kuminga and Moses Moody on Wednesday during the second game of the California Classic.
Whilst Kuminga was perhaps the most exciting aspect from a Warriors’ perspective (a string of plays screaming star potential), it was Moody who actually led the squad offensively in the 94-87 loss to the Miami Heat.
Moses Moody had an electric debut in Summer League — making us question, is it possible he will be a starter for the Golden State Warriors?
Although his 19 points came on just 39% shooting (7/18), Moody did knock down two of his four three-point attempts, went 100% from the line (3/3), and grabbed seven rebounds (four offensive).
Just as importantly, Moody had just one turnover and demonstrated an ability to do all the small things at a high level. With Klay Thompson unlikely to be available at the start of the regular season, could we see Moody step into the vacant shooting guard role?
The Warriors have a couple of options ahead of Moody, but perhaps coach Steve Kerr would prefer them in bench roles. It would be easy to envisage Jordan Poole in the starting role, however, he’s also slated to be a high-level sixth man for this Warriors team. Otto Porter Jr. could slide in with Wiggins moving to the two, however, the newly acquired free agent has had his well-documented health concerns and Kerr may want to use his experience off the bench.
Moody looks like he could play alongside the Warriors core of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Andrew Wiggins, someone that can step in and make the right play at the right time. Although he’d still likely only play 15-20 minutes, from a rotation standpoint it may make sense to start him.
The other question to the equation is what the Warriors do at the center position, do they go with Kevon Looney or will James Wiseman be fit by training camp and earn himself that starting role? If it were to be Wiseman, it’s almost impossible to see the Warriors starting two vastly inexperienced players even in Thompson’s absence.
Although we’re just one game into Moody’s Warriors career, he showed enough to suggest that by the start of the 2021/22 NBA season, he may be ready for a short-term starter role should Thompson be unavailable.
Of course, the Warriors’ current roster makeup means they could still sign another free agent to potentially fill that hole.