I'm almost surprised they picked up Kuminga, because I'm almost ready to
conclude he's too green and kinda out of it, but in the end I guess you
have to give him more time to mature. Which must be why the Warriors did
this, and I can't really criticize it. -AL

=====================================================

Warriors pick up options for James Wiseman, Moses Moody, Jonathan Kuminga
All three are part of the Warriors' grand plan to extend their
championship window as their dynastic core ages out of their prime
>SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – OCTOBER 18: Golden State Warriors’ James
Wiseman (33) acknowledges fans as he is presented his 2022 NBA
Championship ring from Golden State Warriors co-executive chairmen Peter
Guber and Joe Lacob before their season opener against the Los Angeles
Lakers at Chase Center in San Francisco, Calif., on Tuesday, Oct. 18,
2022. (Ray Chavez/Bay Area News Group)
By MADELINE KENNEY | mkenney@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: October 31, 2022 at 10:32 a.m. | UPDATED: October 31, 2022 at
3:10 p.m.
https://www.eastbaytimes.com/2022/10/31/warriors-pick-up-options-for-james-wiseman-moses-moody-jonathan-kuminga/

MIAMI — The Warriors picked up contract options Monday for three players
in the hours before the NBA’s deadline for options on rookie contracts.

Golden State locked in James Wiseman, Moses Moody and Jonathan Kuminga
for another season, keeping the trio under contract through 2023-24, the
team announced Monday.

This is Wiseman’s fourth-year option, worth $12.1 million, meaning he’ll
be eligible for an extension next summer and could be a restricted free
agent entering the 2024 offseason. Meanwhile, Kuminga and Moody, both
first-round picks of the 2021 draft, have one more team option available
after next season. Kuminga is slated to make $6 million and Moody $3.9
million next season.

All three join Jordan Poole, who signed a four-year extension before
this season, in being part of the Warriors’ grand plan to extend their
championship window as their dynastic core of Stephen Curry, Klay
Thompson and Draymond Green ages out of its prime.

Wiseman, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2020 draft, has the physical
traits to be a star in this league, standing at 7 feet with a
7-foot-6-inches wingspan. But he’s had a bumpy start to his career,
playing in just over 50 games over the last four seasons between
Memphis, the NBA and G League. He missed all of last season because of
setbacks with a knee injury that cut his rookie season short.

Wiseman returned to the court in Summer League and showed flashes of
potential, but it was clear then and remains the case now that he’s
still figuring out timing and trying to get into rhythm on both ends of
the floor. Wiseman picked up three quick fouls in about five minutes in
the first quarter of Saturday’s overtime loss to the Charlotte Hornets,
resulting in him being benched for the rest of the game.

Wiseman posted 8.7 points and 4.4 rebounds per game this season. His
118.3 defensive rating is among the team’s worst.

Kuminga is another player who has the talent, athleticism and upside to
develop into something great in this league. It’ll take time to get
there, but the margin of error for youngsters is slim on a
championship-contending team.

Kuminga, the No. 7 pick of last year’s draft, found himself as the odd
man out of the rotation Thursday night when the Warriors hosted the Heat
and wants to play more. He was able to play through more mistakes in
Sunday’s loss to the Pistons when he logged a season-high 19 minutes.

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Meanwhile, Moody has made steady progress from last season into this
one. He’s averaging 6.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in 17 minutes per game
this season and might be considered the more reliable of the three as of
now. Moody has been praised for his high basketball IQ and poise. In
fact, his coaches and teammates have joked that Moody is so mature that
they often forget he’s only 20 years old and this is his second year in
the league.

This season and next will be huge in terms of the young players’
development, especially after the Warriors experienced a lot of turnover
on their bench following the championship run.

Gary Payton II, Otto Porter Jr. and Damion Lee left in free agency. And
Nemanja Bjelica decided to take his talents to Fenerbahçe S.K. of Turkey.

Donte DiVincenzo, who’s currently out with a hamstring injury, and
JaMychal Green joined the Warriors in their place, but the Warriors are
also banking on their young pool of talent to make the necessary leaps
this season to fill the rest of the voids left by the free agent departures.

The Warriors have one of the youngest bench mobs in the league, and
early returns haven’t been great, especially on the defensive end.

“We’re definitely young… and usually when you play youth there’s no
continuity. And so I think the continuity is missing. The reality is
it’s missing on both ends,” Draymond Green said Sunday night after the
Warriors fell to the Pistons.

Still, Green doesn’t put the sole blame for the team’s early season
struggles on the youth movement.

“When you are playing younger guys, that definitely makes it tougher to
execute on both ends of the floor but by no means is it the young guys’
fault,” he continued. “They have a part in it just like we all have a
part in it. We have to figure those things out.”