Golden State Warriors News

Home

Quizzes

Watch

Newsletter

Moses Moody John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports

Moses Moody piles more pressure on Warriors' attempt to straddle two timelines

By Adam Taylor | Last updated 1/5/24

In recent seasons, the Golden State Warriors have been trying to straddle two timelines. On one hand, they have a group of veteran talent with championship experience. On the other, they have some of the best young prospects in the NBA.

However, Steve Kerr and his coaching staff have struggled to find the right balance between the two groups of players, and it has led to some disjointed performances.

Moses Moody falls squarely into the younger timeline. He was the 14th pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and is in his third season with the Warriors. When given the opportunity, Moody has impressed this season. However, he has been benched for the past three games.

According to Joe Dumas of "95.7 The Game," Moody's camp is "growing frustrated" with the lack of a consistent role for the 21-year-old.

"The people around Moses are frustrated with the lack of a role and consistency," Dumas said. "He's in the rotation one day. He's out of the rotation one day. For the lack of a better term, he almost seems like the sacrificial lamb so to speak. Whenever there's a logjam, he's gonna be the guy that falls out. From what I've been told, Moses loves playing in the Bay Area and he loves playing for the Warriors...I think it's understandable that someone in his position with a lot of talent, young, would be frustrated and would want a clear path to playing time. Either here, or somewhere else."

"The people around Moses are frustrated with the lack of a role and consistency...For the lack of a better term it feels like he's the 'sacrificial lamb.' Whenever there's a logjam, he's the guy that falls out."

- @JDumasReports on Moses Moody frustration (via @WillardAndDibs). https://t.co/17tjMgCpjJ pic.twitter.com/UOrASxu0qY
— 95.7 The Game (@957thegame) January 5, 2024

The report of Moody's camp being frustrated came less than 24 hours before reports of Jonathan Kuminga losing faith in Steve Kerr broke on the internet. Those two players are core members of Golden State's second timeline.

Now, the front office will need to make a decision. They either begin trading away some of their highly talented prospects to give Steph Curry and Kerr the veteran help they need. Or, they commit to an early rebuild and prioritize playing the young guys over the veterans.

Neither decision is clear-cut. Yes, Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green are on the back end of their careers. However, their incredible success with the franchise has earned them the right to see things out until they're ready to call it quits. Nevertheless, the Warriors have an opportunity to develop some stellar young talent, including Brandin Podziemski, to potentially remain competitive for the next decade.

The likelihood is that the Warriors' front office if forced, would opt to continue supporting Curry and Kerr moving forward. That could mean we see a flurry of trade activity within the next 12 months. However, the front office and coaching staff will likely try to smooth things over with their young stars before deciding on such drastic action.

Right now, the only thing that's clear is Golden State's attempt to straddle two timelines is failing, and something needs to change.

More must-reads: