Young Warriors guard Moses Moody was just as stunned as the rest of the NBA world when Golden State traded Jordan Poole to the Washington Wizards for Chris Paul.
"I was shocked," Moody told KRON's Jason Dumas. "I was sitting in the car and my mom's friend called, that's the first way I heard it. But yeah it was crazy."
Moody and Poole progressed together the two years they played side by side, forming a strong bond both on and off the court. It was hard for Moody to hear that Poole would be moving across the country to Washington, D.C., but as the 21-year-old enters Year 3, he's starting to understand the league's business side.
Plus, he has the utmost confidence that the 24-year-old guard will thrive in any situation he's put into.
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"It's tough," he said. "Knowing how good of a person he is. I don't have any doubt in my mind that wherever he's going to go, he's going to be good, he's going to be successful. So that kind of eases that up a little bit."
Warriors superstar Steph Curry had a similar reaction as Moody, but with more experience in the league, the move didn't come as that much of a surprise to the four-time champion.
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Still, Curry called losing Poole "tough," but knows Paul, 38, can help the Warriors win now.
"You hate losing JP," Curry recently told The Athletic's Anthony Slater. "I know it’s not all the way official yet. So I don’t want to talk too much before it is. But that’s the tough part of the business, seeing a young guy come into his own [and then get traded]. It’s a great opportunity for him. It’s just you get to know someone like that, build a friendship, build a bond."
After digesting the news of losing his close friend, Moody's focus shifted to who his new teammate will be: A player he grew up watching and is thrilled to call his teammate.
"I'm excited to see it," Moody said. "I've been watching Chris Paul for a long time, so the stuff he does on the court tangibly, with passing, his shooting, getting shots, but then too, just learning and being around another Hall of Famer."
Golden State's assistant coach Kenny Atkinson said he's excited to get to work this offseason and get back into the championship picture.
"It's been a great week," Atkinson told Dumas. "We're obviously hungry, we are hungry to get back into the championship level.
"We made it to the final eight last year, but that's not good enough, not in this organization. So we're excited about what we've done this past week and excited for next season. Ready to rock."
