When Moses Moody signed his three-year, $37.5 million extension with the Golden State Warriors prior to this season, the fourth-year wing essentially took himself off the trade table because of the poison-pill contract.
That will change in the summer when Moody officially begins that contract. Given the 22-year-old's emergence and stature as a starting-calibre player, he's likely to hold significant value as a player whose contract appears massive unders based on recent form.
A hypothetical trade sees the Warriors send Moses Moody to the Raptors
Golden State could use that increased value to actually consider trading Moody, with the idea that they may get a bigger return than at any other point in his career to date. Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report has recently considered what the Warriors may be able to get, suggesting they could send Moody and Buddy Hield to the Toronto Raptors (without draft compensation) in exchange for starting center Jakob Poeltl.
Swartz believes that Poeltl could be "the perfect dirty-work player" for Golden State given his strong finishing, rebounding and ability to be a defensive presence in the paint.
"With a core of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green, Jonathan Kuminga (restricted free agent) and Brandin Podziemski in place, the Warriors could use some more size in the middle," Swartz wrote.
However, there's a couple of issues with this...Firstly, Poeltl would only add to what is currently a loaded Warrior big man rotation. Golden State have unearthed impressive rookie Quinten Post, still possess reliable veteran Kevon Looney, and are likely to persist with Trayce Jackson-Davis despite his recent axing from the rotation.
Why would the Warriors relinquish Moody and Hield when they could probably just bring Looney back for a lower number in free agency? Sure, Poeltl is a better player, but the comparative cost isn't worth it when you also consider the Austrian is still owed $39 million over the next two seasons.
Golden State also lack perimeter shooting as it is, so they shouldn't consider sending out two of their best for a player who is solely restricted to the paint. It would put significant pressure on Mike Dunleavy Jr. and the front office to find shooting in free agency, or execute another trade elsewhere on the roster.
Lastly and perhaps most importantly...in today's modern NBA with the punitive first and second tax aprons, why would the Warriors give up a player who appears to be on such a great value contract? If the franchise does actually consider trading Moody this offseason, it would want to be as part of a package for a star-level player, or at the very least be for a type of player they desperately need.