NBA Draft Scouting: Moses Moody

Physicals:

Height - 6’6

Weight - 205 lb

Wingspan - 7’0

Moses Moody is the first player that I have covered in my draft work that does not have a star level ceiling; Moses Moody is much closer to being a high-level role player who can consistently contribute to winning teams. He projects to be a very good 3&D wing and that sort of player is a useful building block in a championship winning team.

Every championship winning team of the last ten years had a premier 3&D talent on the roster. Danny Green, Andre Iguodala and Shane Battier all played crucial roles in their teams grinding out victories. Any team with legitimate championship aspirations needs to have a big wing who can deal with Paul George or Kevin Durant.

You can see the same trend with the teams in the Finals this season. Mikal Bridges, Jae Crowder and Torrey Craig could all be characterised as 3&D wings. On the Bucks side, Khris Middleton and Jrue Holiday share some of those same traits.

Oklahoma City currently have a defensive stud in Luguentz Dort who can be relied to take on difficult match-ups and do reasonably well. However, Luguentz Dort is only 6’3 and gives up a lot of size to a guy like Jimmy Butler. Dort’s strength and brain can only go so far. The Thunder will need a big wing who can defend at a high level and knock down deep shots.

Moody fits into that category for me. He is a lengthy player who has the size and smarts to legitimately guard two or three positions. He has shown flashes of ball-handling ability but I do not expect him to see much of the ball in the NBA; Moody can struggle to gain separation from the defense.

Moody will shore up the Thunder’s defense from Day One and has the potential to grow into being an elite role player. With time and experience on an NBA floor, Moody could go from being a merely good defensive player to one who can be relied upon to lock down the other team’s best player.

Improvement in efficiency from downtown would completely change how the defense guards him. There is a distinct difference in how defenses guard a league average shooter and how they guard an elite marksman.

A team with Dort and Moody hounding the wings would be excellent defensively. The Thunder would likely still need another playmaker on the floor to make life very difficult for opposing defenses but the Thunder have solutions on that front.

Ty Jerome, Theo Maledon and Aleksej Pokusevski have all shown feel for passing their teammates into opportunities. Oklahoma City could even draft a player like Alperen Sengun who is able to create looks from the post or the elbow.

Moody’s best game of the season came against a very good LSU team in the SEC Tournament. Moody filled it up from downtown and provided the scoring punch needed to put away the team from Louisiana.

Moody’s best skill is his man to man defense. Moody is a smart player and he is very good at reading the floor. Moody had a lot of success beating his assignment to the spot and preventing an easy path to the rim. That brain is augmented by his length and lateral quickness.

Moody boasts a 7’0 wingspan and uses that length to wall off lanes to the rim. In college, Moody’s length often meant that the ball circulated around the perimeter and precious seconds were ran off the clock.

Whenever the attacking player chose to attack Moody, Moses moved his feet well and made the path to the rim as difficult as possible. His lateral quickness was also evident in how Moody navigated screens. His long, fast strides meant that he was able to go under screens without giving up too much space to his assignment.

Moses Moody is capable of consistently knocking down deep shots and this skill should translate nicely to an NBA floor. Moody shot 35.8% from downtown in college but I would argue that his free throw percentage is more indicative of his shooting ability. Moses shot 81.2% on free throws which suggests that he will be a decent marksman in the league.

Moody’s shooting mechanics are unusual but I would say that his mechanics are generally sound. Moody side-loads his jumper but that aspect of his form creates a smooth, clear shooting path whenever he releases his jumper. The only issue with his shot is that it is slow right now.

On the whole, I am positive about his shooting and think that Moody profiles to be an efficient shooter from downtown. His film also suggests that Moody could leverage his shooting into inside creation.

Danilo Gallinari is a great example of a player who played ‘outside-in’ rather than ‘inside-out’. Defenses would close out really hard on Gallinari and he would often use the close out against the defense with a side-step or pump fake. That little move usually created a seam for Gallinari to get below the arc and attack the interior.

There is scope for Moses to develop the same sort of wrinkle. Moody can use the threat of shooting to get himself one dribble into the interior and break down the defense. Moody has the mechanics to develop a functional mid-range jumper and I believe that he has the frame to bully his way inside for layups or dunks. Once he has that ability, Moody will be so much harder to guard.

Moody’s biggest weakness is that he struggles to create separation from the defense off the dribble. Moody is not an elite athlete and does not have that first step explosiveness needed to shake off defenders. Moreover, he does not have the handle needed to compensate for that lack of a first step.

Moody’s handle is not tight and at the moment, he does not have the fluidity to break down a defense. In college, this was not an issue for Moody. Moses would use his long strides and size to bypass the defense. This will not work in the NBA where the athletic level of the league is much higher.

Moody’s lack of a reliable dribble does put a ceiling on his potential. It is difficult to see Moses being a legitimate second option until he develops his handle. At this point in time, Moses Moody projects to be a useful third or fourth option on a very good team.

I really like Moses Moody as a player and think that he would have a lot of utility for the Thunder. 3&D wings are arguably the most important archetype of role player in the modern NBA and Moody could be an elite 3&D wing.

Moody being available at 16 or 18 is likely and it would be a great pick for the Thunder. Saddiq Bey, Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby were all mid first round 3&D wings who have brought a lot of value to their teams. Moody would not be a star but he could provide the same sort of benefit to the Thunder.