As the Golden State Warriors have trudged through the offseason, their main priority has been finding a resolution to their ongoing Jonathan Kuminga saga: either through a sign-and-trade or a contractual agreement.
Yet, their unwillingness to include Moses Moody in any trade has hindered their ability to match salaries for larger assets, and, because of this hesitancy, the team must justify their course of action by granting significant minutes to the young wing next season.
Although there have been no confirmed trade proposals to include Moody, his salary would be hugely valuable in any potential Kuminga sign-and-trade as a result of base-year compensation rules, and the team's unwillingness to include him must signify a growing confidence in the young sharpshooter.
Moses Moody must get significant minutes next season
A member of the same draft class as Kuminga, Moody took a massive leap forward in his fourth year with Golden State.
Following the team's blockbuster acquisition of Jimmy Butler, the outgoing package for which included fan-favorite Andrew Wiggins, Moody took on a larger role with the team, largely excelling in the regular season.
Through the 31 games following the trade, Moody started 29 of them, averaging 10.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 1.5 assists and shooting 34.4% from 3-point range. While these numbers may not seem difference-making, Moody exhibited a valuable 3-and-D skillset through large swathes of these games, shoring up the team's defensive front and going on multiple hot shooting stretches.
Yet, in the playoffs, Moody played through a hand injury that threw his shot off entirely, and the young wing shot only 33.3% from beyond the arc in the team's 12 playoff games. While this was undoubtedly a result of his injury, this complete lack of performance left room for doubt regarding his viability as a long-term starter for the Warriors.
Now, however, the team has expressed its unwillingness to trade either Moody or Hield this offseason. At the very least, this decision could make the rumored Kuminga-for-Josh Giddey swap nigh impossible as a result of the resultant salary complications.
On a broader scale, however, this hesitancy could make almost any move through the trade market difficult given the fact that Moody is among the team's most tradeable assets for the foreseeable future on his relatively undervalued contract.
Yet, if Golden State ultimately signs veteran center Al Horford, as has been much-rumored this offseason, Moody will likely have to compete for minutes in the backcourt given the fact that Butler will be moved to the three-spot within the starting lineup.
Despite his larger role, Moody averaged only 16.1 minutes over the course of last season, and Golden State much grant him a much larger role, somewhere in the 20-25 minutes a night range, in order to justify their faith in him. One can only hope that Moody's shooting takes the necessary steps forward in order to make such a bold decision worth it.