Kai Jones, Moody & Jalen Johnson have dinner/workout
Moody met Draymond at Rich Paul’s + more
(Photo: Warriors Zoom call)
Klutch clients Kai Jones, Moses Moody, and Jalen Johnson had dinner last night and worked out today with the Warriors. Davion Mitchell also did, but did not speak to media. SF Chronicle writer Connor Letourneau wrote earlier today that Mitchell had a flight to catch.
Quick hot takes:
I’m increasingly impressed by Jones. Not only with some of the defensive video highlights I’ve seen, but also today with his seemingly high IQ and attention to detail, especially when I asked him to describe guarding the 1 through 4. The video will come out soon on our YouTube channel and the notes below are a bit sparse on that topic as I was the one asking the question. More on Jones later, I promise, but he’s quickly rising up my mental Draft board.
Moody, just a kid from Little Rock, Arkansas who played for the hometown team, seems to have learned a ton from ex-Warriors coach Eric Musselman, who no doubt has been hyping up Moody to his former employer, as well as Monte Poole, who recently spoke to him. Moody says he got a year head start on NBA terminology. We have a deep dive on Moody coming soon.
Moody is the only one of these three Klutch clients who has met Draymond Green. They connected at Rich Paul’s house recently for a boxing match, presumably in Las Vegas where Green is training for Team USA (fyi haven’t verified this). Draymond told Moody to “keep the main thing the main thing”, i.e., his basketball career.
Johnson said he had a good shooting workout. I am not as high on Johnson, because of Jones.
Here are the full notes & quotes:
KAI JONES
- went well? “Got to shoot off the dribble too, really fun workout…had a blast.”
- Interview: “background, my childhood…really interesting. Learned some things about myself and the organization.”
- organization? “Win-now mode…pride themselves…come in and make an impact immediately.”
- Bob? “No it was a sports psychologist.”
- win now? “I feel very ready…help on both ends especially with some coaching…I pickup things pretty quickly…physically…”
- Moody: “…positive person to be around.”
- workout: “pick and roll stuff some catch and shoots off the move…relocation…ball handling…down screen actions…team ball stuff because of the three guy workout…move on the perimeter.”
- comps: “Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo…(KD) ready to shoot anytime…”
- weaknesses: “all around guy…who can impact the game inside and out…knock down the shot outside…transition…sprinting the floor…”
- Klutch: has not spoken to Draymond, “Jalen and I workout everyday together at 6p…Moses and I we get together on Wednesday’s and Friday’s.”
- Together: will visit SAC together
- guarding 1 thru 3: “ball screens…switch out onto that guard…let’s say I just hedge…oops…close out…whereas if we’re just switching…that’s where I think my strength is.”
- Giannis block: “…I wish Ayton would’ve yammed on him.”
MOSES MOODY:
- game/body develop: “put on ~15 lbs since I been out in LA…3pt line a little bit deeper…”
- fit? “They develop their guys really well, it’s like getting a head start…being here and around the people it’s done nothing but solidify that in my mind…putting that work in when nobody’s looking.”
- interview: “good feel for the guys in the front office…went over some film and broke down some plays…”
- style: “I feel like it fits perfect. I like to space the floor, knock down shots…I get a lot of good looks…driving lanes…”
- defensive switching small: “like Bruce Lee says you gotta be like water…making adjustments on the fly like we did at Arkansas…trailing in the first half.”
- process: “kid from Little Rock hanging out with Rich Paul and LeBron.”
- interview: “we went out to dinner last night and then we broke down film today…around the facility all day.”
- coach? “Everybody else is around”
- Middleton comp: “somebody that I admire he plays a really good solid game…I like to pick things from different guys”
- different ball: “I like the NBA ball a lot more…later on in the game…ball can get a little more slick (NCAA)…”
- Musselman see floor, off ball, away from ball: “having a lot of NBA guys…go hang out with (them)…can’t always watch the basketball…Golden State does a lot of…”
- Musselman fit Arkansas: “agree”
- low upside? “Everybody’s gonna have their opinion…”
- Dray? “He came through (watching the fight at Rich Paul’s)…dished out a lot of good things…keep the main thing the main thing…”
- Dray accessible: “All the guys do a good job of looking out”
- Coach Muss: “…got introduced to the game early…”
- dinner? “Good feel for the guys”
- where? “Pizzas…marguerita type pizza just an appetizer and I got some steak”
- steak? “Really good”
- who? “me Jalen and Kai”
- dinner? “Big table in the back room…private room…”
JALEN JOHNSON:
- how it go? “showcased a lot”
- workout with Klutch: “Holding each other to that standard of excellence.”
- what aspects? “Showed my shot, to say the least…shooting…been a priority”
- comps? “Penny Hardaway, Magic Johnson, Ben Simmons”
- experience? “…great dinner yesterday.”
- film? “I didn’t do that”
- schedule: SAC ORL TOR OKC
- experience? “…and more…loving this process.”
- GSW: “fast-paced…great shooters…winning team…they win at the highest level…in contention…”
- takeaways: “they don’t really speak too much about that…a lot of hard work…you can tell by the workout today.”
- big guards role: “…yeah…anything team wants…”
- big guard: “my dad wanted us to have those guard skills…didn’t want us to be stuck on the block…”
- Klutch/Dray: “haven’t had too much contact with him…”
I don't want to get excited over all of them! Thanks for the info.