Warriors Summer-League Standouts to Watch During Training Camp
For many of the NBA's championship hopefuls, the summer league barely qualifies as an afterthought.
For the Golden State Warriors, though, summer ball felt like the main offseason attraction.
Since they're attempting to balance between present and future timelines, they are almost as invested in their young players as they are franchise mainstays such as Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green. That's because if their young players pop, they can help extend the championship relevance of their vets.
While a pair of 2021 lottery picks are the obvious focal points, they aren't the only summer leaguers worth watching when the Warriors head to training camp.
Jonathan Kuminga
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Jonathan Kuminga, this summer's No. 7 pick, looked as advertised in Las Vegas, for better and worse.
He is as physically gifted as anyone in this draft class, and when he has it rolling, he looks like he might one day be the best player on a championship contender. But if that day ever comes, it will be a long ways into the future. For now, he's inconsistent with everything from his shooting to his decision-making to his defensive engagement.
"There are special qualities he has that are rare for an 18-year-old," Warriors general manager Bob Myers told reporters. "It's just about refining those things."
When the Warriors start training camp, expect to hear daily—if not hourly—updates on Kuminga. He might be the biggest swing player on this roster, as he could end up with anything between a starting spot and a ticket to the G League depending on his readiness and consistency.
Moses Moody
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Training camp Moses Moody might look a lot like summer-league Moses Moody. There's a chance regular-season Moses Moody bears a striking resemblance too, only minus some of the volume stats.
This year's No. 14 pick, he plays a complementary style that should work perfectly in Golden State. The Warriors' stars can help cover his lack of shot-creation, and in return he'll provide ample support as a spot-up sniper and versatile stopper.
The 19-year-old flashed impressive polish for a first-timer. In addition to netting 16.2 points per game, he converted 44.4 percent of his field goals and 37.0 percent of his long-range looks. Those percentages could easily prove sustainable against NBA defenses.
While Moody's ceiling stops well short of Kuminga's, the Arkansas product looks like the rookie more capable of contributing right now.
Gary Payton II
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Gary Payton II might have left Las Vegas with a maintenance bill. At the very least, someone probably needed to fix the rims after the way he punished them.
He has tremendous hops for a 6'2" guard, and that's not even the most impressive part of his arsenal. Like his Hall of Fame father, Payton is relentless on the defensive end. He earned the G League's Defensive Player of the Year honors this past season, then swiped seven steals in three summer-league contests.
The question for the 28-year-old is whether he can provide enough offensively to stick on an NBA roster. So far, he hasn't. While he has appeared in NBA games each of the past five seasons, he has only logged 71 appearances over that stretch. He's a career 26.7 percent shooter from three and only made half of his 26 free-throw attempts.
His three-game sample at Sin City could only show so much, but at least the results were encouraging. He shot 14-of-19 overall and 5-of-6 from distance. The Warriors could use his defense and depth at point guard, but his shooting could determine whether they pick up his non-guaranteed pact.
