Despite eventually being labelled as winners by many in Jonathan Kuminga's free agency resolution, the Golden State Warriors certainly weren't immune to criticism over what was a three-month long stalemate with the young forward.
Yet while the Warriors let Kuminga's contract saga drag out until literally last week, their contract outcome with fellow 2021 lottery pick Moses Moody 12 months ago demonstrated a far greater handling of business.
Warriors might have got a steal with Moses Moody's contract
Having signed the extension heading into his fourth season, Moody's new three-year, $37.5 million contract is now officially underway. Sunday's preseason opener against the Los Angeles Lakers was the first outing on the new deal, and early impressions suggest Golden State might have pulled off a heist in getting Moody on a such a low number.
Along with the debut of free agency addition Al Horford, Moody was clearly the biggest positive to take from the 111-103 victory. The 23-year-old had a team-high 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting in just under 15 minutes, including going 5-of-7 from 3-point range in a confident shooting display that's solidified him as a likely starter going forward.
Moody isn't going to be lights out every night like he was on Sunday, but there's no reason he can't be a 40% shooter from beyond the arc when he's being spoon fed catch-and-shoot opportunities by Jimmy Butler, not to mention the passing of Draymond Green and Horford, along with the sheer space that Stephen Curry provides.
Given he's also expected to take many of the point-of-attack responsibilities defensively, Moody could be the perfect complement to the veteran core and an integral piece of what the Warriors are trying to accomplish this season and going forward.
If you've got a starting-caliber player who can be a 40% 3-point shooter while also capably guarding the opposition's most dangerous perimeter threat, that's an incredibly value player to have on your roster. It's even more valuable if said player is making less than $13 million annually over the next three years, providing the sort of worth that teams are craving for in today's CBA with the first and second tax aprons.
Push past the entire Kuminga situation and the Warriors appear to have done incredibly well with this roster. Moody's deal looks team-friendly given his upside, while it only took one preseason outing for Al Horford's value to be on display. Even the Jimmy Butler extension in February that had many skeptical at the time has proven to be an excellent move to this point.
There's still a lot to play out and real question marks on whether the Warriors can be true championship contenders, but the Moody extension already looks like one that could prove extremely fruitful for the franchise over the coming years.