Dub Nation HQ Draft Tourney: #7 Moses Moody vs #10 Corey Kispert
Dub Nation HQ Draft Tourney: #7 Moses Moody vs #10 Corey Kispert
Battle of Apricot's most intriguing prospects
The whole tournament is at 2021 Dub Nation HQ Draft Tournament.
Okay, you know this isn’t a scam because somehow my objective process set two of my most intriguing prospects against each other in the very first round.
Your mission is to decide which of these two you would prefer the Warriors draft at #7 this year. I’ll bring the scouting reports, you bring the vote.
Moses Moody
Profile from Sports-Reference.com
Per 40. Malik Beasley, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Cameron Thomas, Josh Okogie, Bradley Beal, Terrence Shannon Jr., Bryant Stith, Harold Miner, Andrew Wiggins
Advanced. James Young, Kevon Looney, Aaron Gordon, Jerami Grant, Keldon Johnson, Kevin Knox, Malik Beasley, Kelly Oubre, Trey Lyles
Jon Chepkevich: Statistical best comparisons are
Romeo Langford
Luke Kennard
Andrew Wiggins
Gordon Hayward
De’Andre Hunter
NBA Draft Room Comp: Allan Houston
Kyle Boone, CBS Sports: With Stephen Curry still playing at an MVP level and Klay Thompson set to return next season, the Warriors would do well to add a high-level role player who can maximize this roster. Moody fits the mold. He's a 3-and-D talent who shot 35.8% from 3-point range on high volume (162 attempts) and who would give the Warriors' current backcourt a real boost with his shooting and ability to make an impact off the ball.
Jeremy Woo, SI. While a bad run in the NCAA tournament shouldn’t impact Moody unfairly, it did bring to light some of the primary concerns scouts have held surrounding his athletic toolbox and overall readiness for the NBA. Granted, he’s 18, so some of this is to be expected, but Moody’s efficiency can vary wildly from game to game as a player who’s heavily reliant on shooting jumpers to be effective. He has a good frame and looks the part, but he lacks the explosiveness and struggles to finish regularly in traffic. There’s appealing upside here and Moody had a solid freshman year on the whole. But his range looks more likely to be late-lottery and onward than top 10 at this point.
Sam Vecenie, The Athletic: The excitement surrounding Moody has dampened a bit following an inefficient NCAA Tournament, but I think some people are overthinking it. Moody is a terrific 3-and-D wing option with real size at 6-6 with a 7-foot wingspan. He is switchable on defense, with really good feet and a tough mindset. Offensively, he hits shots with a smooth stroke off the catch. He took a ton of contested shots this season as Arkansas’ go-to guy, which led to some of his inefficiencies. But he also showcased some difficult shotmaking ability, too, off the move. The big things to work on here are his passing ability and finishing — and he’s not a wild athlete by any stretch. But it’s tough to find teenagers who are this good at shooting and defending with a platform to improve his other aspects as well.
Kevin O’Connor, The Ringer: SHADES OF Mikal Bridges, OG Anunoby, Morris Peterson
Safe bet to be a productive player for years. His ceiling, however, is unknown.
Perimeter Shooting
On-Ball Defense
Hustle
Rebounding
PLUSES
Excellent physical dimensions. Uses his strong frame and long arms to alter shots as a help defender near the rim or harass opponents man-to-man on the perimeter.
Good stationary shooter, but needs to speed up his release on 3s off screens and handoffs.
Unselfish player who excelled in an off-ball role. Does a good job of reading the floor off the dribble to make simple passes using either hand. Has intriguing potential as a screener who can thrive on the short roll.
Capable of pulling up from midrange after one or two dribbles.
Anticipatory rebounder with a nose for the ball, especially on offense.
Versatile on-ball defender who invites contact from larger players and has the agility to contain smaller, quicker perimeter scorers.
Intelligent off-ball defender who always seems to be in the right position.
MINUSES
Struggled to generate open shots against better defenders. Doesn’t project as a primary scorer unless his handle dramatically improves, and lacks the fluidity of players who develop that skill.
Lacks a floater.
Draws a lot of fouls but doesn’t finish well inside. A below-the-rim finisher. Needs to add more touch on finishes.
Lives in the midrange off the dribble. Needs to extend his range to 3 to hit more one-dribble side-step shots like high-level role players can.
Hollinger, The Athletic: Watching Moody’s tape, the two things that immediately strike you are that 1) he has a really good chance of carving out a career as a plus 3-and-D guy, and 2) he has fairly little chance of popping as anything more than that.
Moody has good size and length at 6-foot-6 with a 6-foot-11 wingspan and a smooth outside shot. His 3-point rate wasn’t off the charts, however, as he didn’t show the kind of ability to run off screens and fire on the move that you’d want to see from a high-level gunner. He also rarely gets to the basket and doesn’t wow you with athleticism.
Where he did show well is on the defensive end. While he wasn’t disruptive off the ball, he gets in a stance, slides his feet and uses his length to distract shooters. He’s also young even for a freshman, and has some instincts as a scorer, so there’s a chance some untapped upside remains.
He shapes up as a high-floor, low-ceiling type in spite of his youth, one who makes for a good pick around this point in the draft.
Dub Nation Speaks
belilaugh on Jun 23:
A couple random Moody facts:
NBA combine was today and the official measurements were taken. Moody has a +8.5 wingspan compared to his height without shoes, truly has freakish arms. Below is his placement among other guys with freak wingspans (holy shit THT) although it should be noted that this had assumed he was +8.25 and not +8.5. Kelly Oubre also has a +8.5, and no matter what you think of him everyone agrees his arms are absurdly long and help him have defensive versatility.
Also at today's combine his hand length measured 9 inches and his hand width measured 10 inches, both tops among all players in the combine 6'6 or shorter (also had the highest standing reach of that pool). The guy has big hands.
Also, people call Moody a "3 and D" guy and low upside, but how many guys have this polished of a footwork game at age 18 in college? Was Klay doing this back then (perhaps he was, I didn't watch him in his freshman season at Washington State)?
Moody averaged 6 free throws a game as a freshman, that's not common for "3 and D" guys. Klay took 1 a game as a freshman (upped it in future seasons), Middleton around 2, Danny Green never got to the line too much, etc. I think Moody would be a pure 3 and D guy next season, but I think he has serious secondary scoring option potential down the line once as he works on some of his weaknesses (like finishing, shout out Klay).
Some of these 3 and D guys like Mikal Bridges are pretty stationary (although Bridges is obviously way more athletic), whereas Moody's film shows a guy who has high movement shooting potential imo.
Moody averaged 7 rebounds per 40 minutes, those arms of his help him get to a lot of loose balls. You can also find multiple incidents of him diving on the floor for them, he's a competitor.
Corey Kispert
Profile from Sports-Reference.com
Per 40. Marcus Denmon, John Jenkins, Tyler Harvey, Doug McDermott, Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Steve Novak, C.J. Wilcox, Justin Harper
Advanced. John Jenkins, Aaron Nesmith, Trey Murphy III, Erik Murphy, Justin Harper, Mikal Bridges, Cameron Johnson, Marcus Denmon, Dylan Windler
NBA Draft Room Comp: Martell Webster, Joe Harris
Sam Vecenie, The Athletic: Maybe the best shooter in the class. Kispert has quiet shot mechanics in the best possible way, shooting 53 percent from the field and 44 percent from 3 this past season while averaging 19 points per game for the nearly undefeated Gonzaga Bulldogs. He’s going to shoot the hell out of the ball, and he’s going to make elite decisions. The questions come on defense. NBA teams have started to really question Kispert’s footspeed and whether he’ll be able to keep up at the next level. I personally have him a bit higher than this on my board, but anywhere from No. 10 to 20 sounds right.
Kevin O’Connor, The Ringer: SHADES OF Bojan Bogdanovic, Joe Harris, Gary Trent Jr.
Heady, competitive player who can drain 3-pointers and find ways to help a team win.
Perimeter Shooting
Hustle
On-Ball Defense
Off-Ball Defense
PLUSES
Elite shooter both off the catch and the dribble. Quick release from all over the floor. A potential 50-40-90 player.
Creates simple shots for himself. With the ball, he can throw a pump fake then score by attacking closeouts. Without the ball, he has the awareness to find open space for jumpers or cuts to the rim.
Helps facilitate the flow of the offense by making smart, rapid reads.
Reliable, hard-nosed positional defender who puts himself in the right spots, whether in off-ball help situations or in man-to-man matchups.
Strong work ethic, which resulted in massive improvements in each of his four college seasons.
MINUSES
Lacks the handle or athleticism to be a lead ball handler; even in his limited role, he hasn’t displayed a ton of advanced abilities shooting off the dribble.
Can improve lateral quickness on defense to stay in front of opposing guards.
Hollinger, The Athletic: Holy crap, a senior!
We’re getting into a different strata of player here, because Kispert has near-zero star equity. That said, big wings who can shoot are one of the most valuable player archetypes, and Kispert checks all the boxes for this species. While there remains a pretty big variance between this pick turning out to be more like Doug McDermott (meh) or more like Joe Harris (wahoowa!!), Kispert offers near-certain rotation caliber shooting at the expense of the upside you’d usually want at this stage of the late lottery. Kispert is also 22, which makes him a fossil relative to the other players available here.
Defensively, Kispert looked pretty solid for a player of this ilk. He’s not a disruptor, but his strength is an underrated asset, allowing him to match up with some 4s and hold his own against post-ups. On the perimeter, he relies on his length against smalls and will concede space and some jump shots. However, he moves his feet to cut off driving lanes and is very good at using verticality. I don’t think he’ll have a target on his back.
We should also talk about some of the upside here as a scorer. I realize Gonzaga didn’t play a tough schedule, but Kispert’s game wasn’t just 3s. He scored 33 points per 100 and shot 64 percent inside the arc; he’s actually a really good finisher off straight-line drives because of his size and strength, and he’s pretty good in transition, too. He weaponized that with his 3-point threat; he hit 44 percent and 43.8 percent from 3 his final two seasons at Gonzaga, so you better close out on him hard.
One thing I didn’t like about Kispert was his low release point. I don’t think he’s the type of guy who’s going to run away from his defense and come off two pin-screens wheeling and dealing; he’s better off spotting up away from the play. But he has the tools to be an elite weak-side offensive player.
Your Vote
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Moody at 7 and Trey Murphy at 14
I've got to take Kispert simply because of shooting. He also improved in my eyes after I saw his results from the combine.