Secret’s out: Another Warriors teenager has real star potential

The Warriors' other 2021 lottery pick is finding his way in the NBA and it should have fans excited.

It’s easy to forget that Moses Moody is 19 years old.

That’s because, for most of the season, it’s been easy to forget the rookie.

But the wing from Arkansas could not be ignored on Monday night, as he became the youngest Warrior in the franchise’s 75-year history to score 30 points in a game.

The formula for Moody’s career-best game should not be replicated anytime soon. The Warriors decided not to bring their high-minute players to Denver for a rescheduled game with the Nuggets, leaving a roster where eight of the nine active players had once played for the Santa Cruz Warriors, the Dubs’ G-League affiliate.

This was a game the Warriors were effectively throwing in the name of “load management”, but that provided an opportunity for Moody to show that he’s more than Golden State’s other lottery pick. He made the most of it. And even on a night where the Warriors did, indeed, lose, he and the rest of the Not Ready For Primetime (but NBA TV is Fine) Players provided Golden State with some much-needed optimism amid a horrendous stretch of losing.

Moody scored 15 first-quarter points, 22 first-half points, and finished the contest with 30 in total. He wasn’t the best player on the floor — reigning and possible back-to-back NBA MVP Nikola Jokić played and was marvelous — but he absolutely looked like he belonged.

Moody has been overshadowed all season by the Warriors’ top pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, Jonathan Kuminga. And for good reason, too: Kuminga has been an impact player for the Dubs. Golden State is inarguably leaning on the No. 7 overall pick too much to try to right the proverbial ship.

Moody doesn’t have the same kind of elite athleticism or size as Kuminga — he was never in the discussion to be the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft — but what he has is exceptionally valuable to the Dubs: A high floor.

I don’t want to shortchange Moody and his potential in this league — he is a wing who can score off the dribble at 19 years old, so to say he’s just a role player in this league would be foolish — but at the very least, the final pick of the most recent draft lottery is going to be a solid 3-and-D player.

Look around at other teams around the NBA who have three top salaries on their team, the Warriors (with their four) included: young, reliable wings who can knock down an outside shot and switch on defense are worth their weight in gold.

But don’t actually pay them that much. They’re so valuable because they are on rookie contracts, which generally makes them cheap.

Moody’s defense is solid to the point of being unremarkable. He’s long, he moves laterally well, and the speed of the NBA has slowed down to the point where he can make some things happen on that end, especially in isolation situations.

The same scouting report applies to the offensive end of the court, too. Moody has a clean, efficient stroke from beyond the arc, is an underrated ball-handler, and has a big-moment mentality.

What’s not to like?

If the Warriors were a team that was losing five straight games and nine of 11 all season, we’d be seeing Moody get countless opportunities like the one he had Monday night. He’d likely be an All-NBA Rookie Team selection and someone NBA hipsters talk about in reverent tones.

For now, he’s our little secret. Though that secret is getting out. (I know I’m not helping here.)

The Warriors are going to have to make seismic decisions on their roster in the coming years. This team is already paying crazy luxury tax and that’s before Andrew Wiggins asks for a max contract to go along with the big money Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green make.

With Kuminga, Jordan Poole, and now Moody, the Warriors might be willing to part with the player from the bridge generation and skip straight to the kids amid the inevitable organizational transition.

One could argue with the way Wiggins has been playing as of late, that move is already happening.

There’s no reason to make any sort of determination now, but Moody is the kind of player who gives the Warriors serious options in the years to come.

In the meantime, he’ll find some spots in the final weeks of the season — he’s part of the rotation now — and then be able to sit back and learn from the best playoff trio that has graced the game in decades.

“He’s a keeper,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said of Moody. “He’s a guy who’s going to be a cornerstone for this team for a long time to come. It’s easy to see.”