This figured to be a rough summer for Moses Moody. The extensive rehabilitation on his left knee alone is enough to push a player to the brink of his sanity.
But added to that is the uncertainty about his future with the Golden State Warriors. Speculation season, also known as NBA free agency, turned up a notch when LeBron James entered the fray. The hypothetical trades. The constant rumors from the insiders sprouting like weeds. The Warriors’ particular desperation. It’s all more than enough to leave Moody stressing.
But while much of the basketball world wonders how Golden State’s roster might change, and whether it includes LeBron, Moody locks in on event logistics. While Warriors fans throw his $12.5 million salary next season into trade machines, Moody is finalizing plans while rehabbing with a smile on his face.
The uncertainty surrounding him stands no chance against his current obsession: the annual summer series put on by his Motivate One Foundation. So he’s organizing workshops for the youth summit and securing sponsors for the golf tournament. The logistics intensify when Stephen Curry shows up.
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“The opportunity kind of fell in my lap with Steph being willing to come,” Moody said. “So we’ve got to make it what it can be. What it does for the city, what it does to the young people there. When I was a kid there, (players like) Steph Curry wasn’t coming to Little Rock.”
If you know anything about Moody, you know it makes sense he’d prefer to serve the young people of his hometown rather than ride the wave of the NBA rumor mill. With Curry coming to Little Rock, Ark., for the event July 24-25, planning intensified.
“Steph has offered to play golf in the tournament,” Moody said. “So we have an opportunity to play with Steph in a foursome.”
The timing, perhaps, couldn’t have been better. Moody’s never had this much time.
His season ended prematurely, gruesomely, in March when he tore the patellar tendon in his left knee, replacing his normal offseason routine with countless hours of healing, recovering and strength rebuilding. He’s coming up on four months since surgery. He’s not yet doing court work. He’s graduated to the underwater treadmill.
But for the first time in his career, this offseason, he’s able to slow down. While building up the muscles around his knee, he can also focus on more meticulous and targeted work on his body. “Correct some pelvis things, some core strengthening things, some movement patterns,” as he described them. The offseasons are usually too packed to be so fastidious with his training regimen.
He’s spent more time in the Bay Area for rehab. He’s exploring business ventures. He even picked up the guitar. And he’s taken on an even bigger role of choreographing his foundation’s biggest event.
“It’s been fun even just going through the process,” Moody said. “Planning everything out. Working on it. Figuring out what we’re doing, what it’s all about. I’ve enjoyed the whole process of it.”
Moses Moody waves to fans as he leaves the court after sustaining a torn patellar tendon in a March game. He hopes to return sometime next season — with the Warriors or elsewhere. (Kevin Jairaj / Imagn Images)
He’d much rather talk about the partnership with Trades 4 Life that will teach people trade and life skills during the youth summit than spend too much time worrying about if he’ll be traded. Other players find trade speculation stressful, a reasonable response to the sudden life upheaval that ensues. But Moody’s having too much fun creating something for young people in Little Rock.
Moody said he hasn’t heard from the Warriors. He said he checked in with Rich Paul, his agent, but has largely avoided the rampant dialogue about Warriors moves.
The initial reports had the Warriors discussing a trade for Anthony Davis from Washington and LeBron joining him on the Warriors. But while the Davis trade rumors have subsided, the wait for LeBron persists. If he chooses the Warriors — most reports list Cleveland or Miami as favorites — Golden State might have to move Moody’s contract if LeBron demands a larger salary. If LeBron does not choose Golden State, the Warriors could still use a dynamic addition. But they don’t have many ways to get such a player. The only reasonable assets they have to move are draft picks, the $20 million salary of Kristaps Porziņģis, or Moody.
But the Warriors love Moody. He’s been a model role player during his five seasons in the Bay. He’s a 24-year-old, 6-foot-5 wing who shot 40 percent from 3 last season and set career-highs in scoring average (12.1) and minutes per game (25.7).
“I’m curious, so I had some conversations just trying to figure out what’s going on,” Moody said. “But I don’t call Rich every day. I’m not in it like that because I ain’t got nothing to do with how it’s gonna go down. So I’m more so just watching. … Whenever something needs to be talked about is when it will.”
In the meantime, Moody takes advantage of the slower pace. Literally, because of his knee. And figuratively, because the occasion gives him the chance to refocus. The refortifying of his knee requires concentrated effort and focus. This challenge requires Moody to clear some things off his plate and channel his energy.
But it also allows him the capacity to not just pour into his summer event, but appreciate it along the way. Not just the inherent joy of community service. But the validation in the support he receives. Draymond Green, Klay Thompson and Rich Paul have all done Moody’s summer series. Now, one of the biggest sports stars on the globe is headed to Moody’s city. Because of him.
“It’s not like they were in town or they were coming this way,” Moody said. “No, they’re coming here for it. So I appreciate it. And since I’m in a situation where they’ll do something like that for me, I’m in a unique position to be able to make this happen for the people in my city. So if they feel this way about me, and I feel this way about my city, being able to connect the two feels like a special opportunity for me.”