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Warriors Trade Idea Flips Moses Moody for Rangy $48 Million Center

The Golden State Warriors have to figure out the future of Jonathan Kuminga, who will become a restricted free agent on Monday, June 30. But the franchise's first piece of business beyond that contractual quagmire is finding a two-way center.

Bobby Marks of ESPN suggested on Saturday flipping Moses Moody to New York for Mitchell Robinson, but the Knicks center is an offensive liability in just about every sense of the word. He has never attempted a 3-point shot in his seven-year NBA career, and the Indiana Pacers took to fouling him off the ball in the middle of Eastern Conference Finals games during this postseason.

As good as Robinson is defensively and despite what he can offer on the offensive glass, the Warriors would perhaps be better suited to find a player with more two-way upside.

Names like Brook Lopez and Al Horford come to mind, though they are both free agents and it is unclear what Golden State will be able to do from a free-agency perspective until the Kuminga situation is resolved.

Another potential option is a trade with the Portland Trail Blazers for Robert Williams III. Williams, 27, can't spread the floor offensively with his shooting like Horford and Lopez, but he is a high-level rim-runner and lob threat. Williams is also a quality rim-protector who can switch on defense and stay in front of perimeter threats.

The caveat to all of that, however, is "when healthy," which Williams has not been for the last several seasons. Williams has played in just 61 games over the past three years. That said, when he played 61 games in 2021-22 for the Boston Celtics, he earned second-team All-Defense honors and finished seventh in the NBA's Defensive Player of the Year voting.

Portland Trail Blazers center Robert Williams III (35).

Marks suggested the Los Angeles Lakers take a swing on Williams by trading Gabe Vincent, Jordan Goodwin and a second-round pick for the $48 million center entering the final season of his four-year contract.

Moody's $37.5 million contract over three years carries a salary cap hit of $13.45 million next season, which matches almost exactly the $13.29 million total on Williams' deal in 2025 and wouldn't require a second player to make the money work.

Williams would be a swing on behalf of the Warriors, though if he doesn't work out the team could move on with no financial headaches after the upcoming campaign.

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