Warriors Rookie Compared to Former Lakers Champ, Journeyman Sharpshooter

It’s not yet known what kind of role Arkansas product Moses Moody will have during his rookie season with the Golden State Warriors.

The 14th overall pick showed flashes of solid play in the NBA Summer League, but this Dubs roster obviously won’t provide an immediate starting job for the rookie, as is the case with guys like Jalen Green with the Houston Rockets. Moody’s playing time will depend largely on the health of other backcourt players such as Jordan Poole and Klay Thompson, as well as guard/forward combos like Andrew Wiggins and Andre Iguodala.

Even the other Golden State lottery pick – seventh overall selection Jonathan Kuminga – will be battling in the early portion of the season for playing time, but both youngsters would do themselves wonders by putting together a solid training camp, which begins on September 28.

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Moody seems to be in a good spot with his new head coach, Steve Kerr, as the eighth-year leader of the Dubs had high praise for the former Razorbacks guard when he was interviewed by Tim Kawakami of The Athletic on Thursday.

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Rookie ‘Looks Like a Guy Who Belongs on the NBA Court’

During Thursday’s discussion, Kerr talked about both rookies and what they could bring to the roster this season.

“He is big. Long arms and muscular, he’s a really strong guy, and so young,” the coach said of Kuminga. “What’s funny is if you look back and see a rookie picture of anybody – pick your player – LeBron James, Steph Curry, anybody, if you see a picture of them now versus when they were rookies, what are you thinking? ‘Look how skinny that guy is. Look how thin that guy is.’ And so when you look at Kuminga and Moody now, just imagine what they’re going to look like in four years.”

When the 2015-2016 NBA Coach of the Year got to Moody specifically, he gave an interesting player comparison.

“Moody just looks like a traditional 3-and-D guy. I keep saying Trevor Ariza in terms of the body type, the arm length, the shooting ability and obviously the intelligence,” Kerr said. “Obviously, Ariza has had a great career and hopefully Moody has something similar. Moody looks like a guy who belongs on the NBA court and obviously, he’s still really young.”

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Ariza Beginning Second Tenure With Lakers, Vying for Another Title

At 36 years old, Trevor Ariza is not only one of the oldest players in the Association, but he is nearly double the age of Moody, who turned 19 in May. When the 17-year NBA veteran was selected in the second round of the 2004 NBA draft, the new Dubs guard probably wasn’t thinking much about basketball, as he had just turned two years old.

While Moody’s NBA journey is just starting, Ariza’s is in its final chapters. Over his near-two-decade run in the league, the sharpshooter has been traded a stunning 11 times and played with 10 different teams – or one-third of the franchises.

Ariza ranks 14th among all active players in three-pointers with 1,595 and is 16th among active NBAers in steals per game at 1.48. During his first season of his second tenure with the Rockets in the 2014-2015 campaign, Ariza ranked seventh in the NBA in both three-pointers with 194 and steals per game at 1.9.

The former UCLA product signed a one-year $2.6 million deal with the Los Angeles Lakers in August, starting his second run with the franchise, and will be far from the only thirtysomething on the roster. Ariza won his only NBA title back in 2009 with the Lakers.

Kerr’s lofty praise for the Warriors 14th overall selection could create lofty expectations for the teenager, but if Moody can meet them over the next decade-plus, Golden State may have very well gotten a steal in late July.

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