The Golden State Warriors and reserve wing Moses Moody agreed to a fully guaranteed three-year, $39 million contract extension before Monday’s deadline, league sources told The Athletic on Sunday. ESPN first reported the news.
The deal keeps Moody under team control at a reasonable price for the next four seasons, as the salary cap rises and Moody enters his prime locked into a rate slightly below the mid-level exception.
Moody had a terrific training camp in Hawaii, drawing rave reviews from players and coaches, translating that into a strong preseason in which he led the Warriors in scoring in multiple games.
To have a better shot at regularly cracking Steve Kerr’s rotation, Moody was told he needed to up his catch-and-shoot speed and volume. He’s done both, going 13-of-31 from deep, mostly on catch-and-shoot in both transition and the half court.
“He’s gonna play a big role for us,” Kerr said. “But so are a lot of other guys. We’re sitting in that coaches room every day saying: ‘How are we going to play all these guys?’ Because they all deserve to play. I’ve asked all of them to play their hardest, make it difficult for us.”
Moody is still somewhere around the ninth or 10th man as opening night arrives Wednesday in Portland. He’s battling for minutes against Jonathan Kuminga, Andrew Wiggins, Buddy Hield, Brandin Podziemski, De’Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II. It’s a crowded scene.
But this is a statement from the Golden State front office that, regardless of his unknown role, believes in the talent and character of Moody in the long term.
For Moody, it’s a chance for NBA security into his mid-20s.
Moody remains trade eligible this season, but this extension makes the math trickier. For matching purposes, he will count as $5.8 million (his current year salary) as the outgoing number, but will count as $11.2 million (the average salary of his next four seasons) for incoming purposes for the acquiring team.
(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
