Golden State Warriors: will Moses Moody take a leap next season

Moses Moody struggled to find a spot in the rotation for the Golden State Warriors this past season, often staying on the bench until garbage time, sometimes never even seeing the floor at all.

During the Western Conference Finals, that changed just a little bit, and he saw over 12 minutes per game and played well during that time, although he was mostly used as a defensive piece to stay in front of Luka Doncic, which he did well.

Throughout the regular season and playoffs, Warriors guard Moses Moody struggled to find his rhythm, causing his shooting splits to suffer.

Moody only shot 43.7% from the field this season despite hitting his threes at a solid 36.4% from three-point range. He also was mediocre at the free-throw line at 77.8%, leaving some to be desired.

Outside of his shooting splits, he has looked really solid, playing a very well-rounded game for a rookie. He even has a lot of the small things figured out as well, finding lanes and gaps in the defense to move to, although he still has plenty of room to grow in those areas as well.

One thing where there is very little criticism was his defense, he could be better, but many of the mistakes he made were mistakes commonly made by rookies in the NBA, like mixing up play signals or misreading a play. He will learn and grow.

So far after just his rookie season, Moses Moody looks like a player that could be a building block for the team as Klay Thompson continues to age and is no longer as effective as he is now.

The Golden State Warriors have also cleared room in their guard rotation for Moses Moody to take a larger role next season as the team looks to repeat.

The Warriors decided to let fan-favorite guard Gary Payton II walk in free agency due to the large contract he was offered by the Portland Trail Blazers.

This move will allow Moody to take more responsibilities in the rotation, likely playing the same role that Payton did last season, a high-level defender that is used as a cutting option for Steph Curry and Draymond Green to hit for an easy bucket as the defense closes in on them.

The upside is that Moody is a far better shooter than Payton is, meaning he could likely play a larger role in the offense as well, especially with more shooters entering the lineup in James Wiseman and Donte DiVencenzo.

The Summer League game one performance from Moses Moody leaves a lot of optimism for Warriors fans to think about.

While the team struggled against the Knicks on July 8, losing 101-88, there were plenty of bright spots for fans including Moody’s incredible performance. He just could not miss a shot, scoring 34 points on only 13 shots, an average of 2.6 points per shot attempt. That is insane.

Moody also finished the game with 5 rebounds and 2 blocks, playing incredibly well, while leading the team with nearly half of their points scored. Moody also hit 3 three-pointers on six attempts.

While we have seen Moody go off like this before, like in the regular-season loss against the Denver Nuggets where he scored 30 points in a surprisingly close 131-124 loss for the Warriors, he also took much more shots and was far less efficient.

The young players have constantly been praised by the veteran players on the Warriors roster for their commitment to working hard in the off-season and never taking a day off from the grind. Moses Moody is no different.

If Moody continues to work hard and builds off of his stellar summer league performance, he could be positioned to take a leap in his performance next season.