Warriors Should Try to Keep This Young Player Out of Giannis Trade

If the Golden State Warriors are going to win the Giannis Antetokounmpo sweepstakes, they will have to give up just about every first-round pick and quality young player they have.

The trade proposal I suggested was Antetokounmpo and Kyle Kuzma for Jimmy Butler, Jonathan Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski, first-round picks in 2026, 2028, 2030 and 2032 and a first-round pick swap in 2031.

That's all the first-round draft capital the Warriors can offer because the Bucks don't have a 2027 or 2029 first-round pick the Warriors could offer swap rights for.

But it's not quite all the young talent the Warriors can offer.

Along with Kuminga and Podz, the Bucks might want Moses Moody, Will Richard and Quinten Post.

If there's one player the Warriors should try to keep from their quintet of youngsters, it's Moody. Here's why.

Moody Is Golden State's Best On-Ball Defender

Antetokounmpo would give the Warriors much more size and rebounding, but they'd still need players who can defend ball-handlers and wings.

Moody is the Warriors' best on-ball defender.

Some might think it's De'Anthony Melton, but at 6'2", Melton is too small to have much of a chance against the likes of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Kawhi Leonard.

At 6'5" with a 7'1" wingspan, Moody can bother superstar wings.

There isn't a perfect stat for defensive impact, but Moody has a team-leading plus-1.8 Defensive EPM on Dunks and Threes' website. He's also second on the team in defensive net rating, just behind Podz, per Cleaning the Glass.

Podz's defensive strengths—taking charges and rebounding—will be less valuable with Antetokounmpo on the court, while Moody's strengths on the ball will continue to be essential.

While Richard has proved to be a steals magnet, ranking tied for seventh in steals per 36 minutes, he's had issues keeping ball-handlers in front of him. Kuminga has a minus-0.9 Defensive EPM, and Post has defensive limitations due to his foot speed, though he's gotten much better this season.

Moody Is the Best Shooter of the Bunch

By three-point percentage, it's pretty close between Moody (40.2) and Podz (38.7). But Moody averages 2.5 more three-point attempts per 36 minutes than Podz, so it's a bigger edge to Moody than it looks.

More volume can lead to a slightly worse percentage, yet Moody is still better than Podz.

And even if you didn't know the percentages, it's easy to see that Moody has a more natural delivery, and the fact that he's a bit taller makes it easier for him to get the threes off.

Richard (35.7) and Post (35.2) are decent shooters, but they aren't that close to Moody. Post has excellent form and will likely shoot close to 40 percent in his career, but for now, Moody is clearly ahead of him.

Kuminga is shooting just 32.1 percent from three. The Warriors would need shooters around Antetokounmpo, and Kuminga is simply not one.

Can the Warriors Afford to Risk Not Getting Giannis At All by Keeping Moody Out of It?

This is the million-dollar question.

If the Bucks demand Moody, can the Warriors afford to play hardball?

The Bucks wouldn't be accepting this Warriors package because of Moody. They'd be accepting because of the four first-round picks and one swap. The rest probably isn't essential to them.

But they can and should try to extract every piece of value that they can from a Warriors team desperate to land Antetokounmpo now.

After giving up all of their value draft capital, the Warriors would have essentially no way to acquire a decent three-and-D wing.

So as crazy as it sounds, the Warriors arguably should keep Moody off limits and hope the Bucks accept the deal without him. Having Moody could make a big difference in the playoffs, and the Warriors have to weigh that before making their final Antetokounmpo offer.