Getty Moses Moody takes the ball to the hoop during a bout between the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets.
Earlier this season, Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr indicated that a “numbers thing” was to blame for lotto talent Moses Moody riding the pine. Whatever the reason, the struggle has been real for the former No. 14 pick, who has already logged multiple DNP-CDs and is averaging just 14.9 minutes per appearance.
Whether it’s that numbers game, underperformance (in the case of James Wiseman and, earlier on, Jonathan Kuminga) or something else that’s responsible, there’s no doubt that Dub Nation hasn’t gotten what it had hoped to be seeing see from the club’s stable of talented youngsters.
And with the defending-champion Warriors finding themselves behind the eight-ball from a record standpoint in the wild Western Conferences, chances are that the youth movement will continue to take a back seat to the battle-tested vets.
With that being the case, some have wondered whether it might behoove the Dubs to siphon off some of their prospects in favor of win-now vets. That includes Bleacher Report‘s Zach Buckley, who just pitched a trade accomplishing just that.
B/R Floats Warriors-Magic Deal
In a roundup of “new trade ideas for the NBA’s top contenders,” Buckley proposed the following move, which resulted in the Warriors jettisoning two-thirds of their prized lottery trio:
- Golden State Warriors receive G/F Gary Harris and C Moritz Wagner
- Orlando Magic receive C James Wiseman, G/F Moses Moody, a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 second-round pick
While the Warriors have been praised for their dual-timeline roster — and deservedly so after the team brought home the chip in 2022 — it has become clear in 2022-23 that one of those timelines is doing all the heavy lifting where pursuing the title is concerned.
And with Golden State’s dynastic core approaching its twilight, Buckley is clearly of the belief that the franchise should do what it can to win with that core while it’s still around.
“Golden State shouldn’t hesitate about parting with significant assets — both Wiseman and Moses Moody absolutely qualify as recent lottery picks — for the chance to improve its championship odds,” Buckley wrote. “Not with Stephen Curry, a once-in-a-generation talent, playing some of the best ball of his career.”
What the Trade Actually Does
Before injuries halted his progression, Harris was seemingly on his way to being one of the best two-way guards in basketball. And while he’ll likely never again match a 2017-18 campaign that saw him average 17.5 points and 1.8 steals per game while shooting nearly 40% from deep and playing lockdown D, he still has a lot to offer on both sides of the basketball.
For a Warriors team whose bench hasn’t performed as expected, Harris could be a stabilizing presence. Wagner, meanwhile, would provide some of the size that Golden State’s bench has lacked, while still being nimble enough around the perimeter to work well in the Dubs’ system.
As for Wiseman and Moody, the pair may not hit the ground in Orlando as 30 MPG players — considering all the other prospects on the team’s roster — but they’d definitely be given a better opportunity to play consistently than they are currently with the title-chasing Warriors.
And, as Kerr has stated on numerous occasions this season, reps are what the two need to get where many think they can go.