Why Golden State Warriors should trade Moses Moody before James Wiseman

If the Golden State Warriors are to make a move over the next 24 hours, it’s likely that one or multiple of their talented youngsters will be out the door. Given Jonathan Kuminga’s develpment makes him near untouchable, the focus lies with fellow recent lottery picks James Wiseman and Moses Moody.

The young duo have been unable to crack Steve Kerr’s rotation on a consistent basis this season. Given they’re not going to contribute to what the Warriors hope is another playoff run, they’re the easiest path for the franchise to find an upgrade.

There’s a number of factors the Golden State Warriors will be weighing up in choosing whether to trade James Wiseman or Moses Moody.

Wiseman and Moody could be packaged together to find the best possible upgrade for the reigning champions. That’s the view of NBCS’ Monte Poole who joined Damon and Ratto on Tuesday to divulge Golden State’s plans.

While there appears a good chance they’re packaged together, who should the Warriors prioritize if they’re to retain one of them? There’s multiple factors involved in that question. Firstly, the financial perspective definitely lends itself to dealing Wiseman. The Athletics’ John Hollinger recently outlined the fact that ownership could save over $130 million by trading the former number two overall pick.

It must be said that would only be the case if they were to move him to a team with cap room. For example, the San Antonio Spurs could send a simple draft pick Golden State’s way in exchange for Wiseman. That doesn’t address the Warriors’ need for a win-now asset right now, making that sort of deal unlikely.

Clearly Wiseman’s $9.7 million contract could acquire someone of a higher value than Moody’s $3.7 million. However, the whole debate here is whether the Warriors can find acquire someone significant enough to give up the future potential of Wiseman and Moody.

Ask yourself this — who of the duo is more likely to make Golden State regret their decision in the future if a trade went down? Moody may be the one most likely to carve out a solid NBA career, but Wiseman’s the one who, despite his underwhelming three seasons in the league, still has the tools to one day become an All-Star

If you trade Wiseman for an eighth or ninth man right now, you’d want to hope you either win the championship this season, or that he never develops to his full potential. As small a chance as it may be, the Warriors won’t want to look at Wiseman become a top-tier center with nothing in return to show for it.

Moody may be a 10-15 year NBA player, but is he going to be anything more than a role player? His stunted development this season would suggest no, which leads to the final point. The 20-year-old has either regressed or stagnated on what he showed last season.

On the other hand, Wiseman has at least shown noticeable improvement. His limited minutes are now no longer the disaster they were at the start of the season, and just look at the contrast between the start and conclusion of his G League stint. There’s an upward trajectory at the very least, which for Moody is flatlining.