Will Moses Moody get a bigger role when the Warriors play the Kings?

One takeaway from the Golden State Warriors' thrilling buzzer-beating victory in Saturday's preseason opener was that fourth-year wing Moses Moody was once again relegated to a secondary role. While he certainly expected a larger role with the departure of Klay Thompson, Moody was not in the starting lineup in the win over the LA Clippers as Steve Kerr opted to use De'Anthony Melton and Jonathan Kuminga at the two wing positions.

And when the Warriors changed lines midway through the first quarter? Moody was absent again, leaving the spots to Brandin Podziemski, Gary Payton II and Buddy Hield. He was the 11th man, which is even worse considering Andrew Wiggins didn't play.

Of course it wasn't all bad. Moody may have been the last of the rotation starters to take the court, but he was one of Golden State's best players in the game, finishing with 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 steals. 1 block and a team best of +14. And he even made it into the starting lineup in the second half when Kerr eliminated Melton, Steph Curry and Draymond Green.

Moody has clearly impressed ahead of his final season of restricted free agency (barring an unlikely extension in the next two weeks). In addition to his strong debut in pre-season, things were also going well behind the scenes. Anthony Slater of The Athletic wrote after Saturday's game: “The hype after training camp was how well Moody played and shot all week in Hawaii.”

But it's hard to see where Moody's minutes will come from unless a deal occurs. Injuries will certainly allow for some opportunities, but the Dubs likely won't promote him over coveted offseason acquisitions Hield and Melton. And they clearly value what Podziemski has to offer, as well as his development.

Still, it's hard to imagine him playing such a small role in tonight's game against the Sacramento Kings after impressing so much in the opening game of the preseason. For Kerr, it's a dilemma for which there are no clear solutions.