Winners and losers from Warriors preseason: Kuminga, Hield, and Moody have been money

With a 111-97 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night, the Golden State Warriors improved to 5-0 in the NBA preseason, with one game against those same Lakers remaining on Friday night.

With the win, Steve Kerr's squad has now earned five preseason wins four times in the last 10 years. The last two times that happened were ahead of the 2016-17 and the 2021-22 campaigns, which ended with the Dubs winning the NBA Finals. And the time before that, which was prior to the 2015-16 season, Golden State should've hoisted the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy but famously blew a 3-1 lead to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Obviously, these three previous instances mean absolutely nothing, nor does the undefeated start to this year's preseason, but it's an entertaining little nugget.

This Warriors team obviously won't look like the ones who won titles in the past, as the longtime trio of Stephen Curry, Draymond Green, and Klay Thompson is no more, with Thompson now wearing a Dallas Mavericks uniform.

While Curry and Green still have some familiar faces surrounding them in the locker room, they've got some new ones as well, as Golden State brought in Kyle Anderson, Buddy Hield, De'Anthony Melton, and Lindy Waters III. All four have played significant minutes thus far, as Kerr attempts to find the right rotations on what is a very deep roster overall.

But as we look into the winners and losers of the Warriors' preseason through five games, we'll start with a couple of returning players.

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Winner: Moses Moody

The surprising star for the Warriors during this five-game winning streak has been Moses Moody, who leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.8 points in 20.5 minutes per game.

There were questions on whether Moody would even make the rotation given all the new additions, but he's essentially made it impossible for Kerr to exclude him. He certainly won't crack the starting lineup, but he'll play hefty minutes off the bench once the regular season begins.

The 2021 first-round pick has shot 43.3% from the three-point line, far better than his career average of 36.2%, and went 5-for-8 from beyond the arc against the Lakers in a 21-point effort. Hield will likely be the first player off the bench, but Moody won't be far behind.

Winner: Jonathan Kuminga

If there were any doubts that Jonathan Kuminga wouldn't make the starting five, those have been pretty much squashed with how he's played during the preseason.

The third-leading scorer on the team a season ago behind only Curry and Thompson, Kuminga has averaged 13.0 points in 21.9 minutes per game, shooting a strong 52.3% from the floor. Like Moody, his accuracy from the three-point line has vastly improved as well, as he's hit on 47.6% of his attempts from deep, going 10-for-21. In his first three seasons, Kuminga has hit just 34.1% of his shots from beyond the arc.

There are still some concerns about his defense, but Kerr has to like what he's seen from the 22-year-old so far.

Winner: Buddy Hield

As mentioned, Buddy Hield will more than likely take on the sixth-man role for much of the regular season. But that's a nice sixth-man option to have.

Hield, who has made the most three-pointers of anyone not named Stephen Curry since he entered the league in 2016, has been stellar from beyond the arc during this preseason as well, connecting on 48.4% of his attempts.

Overall, he's shot 51.2% from the floor. As his career average in that department is 43.4%, that's nothing but encouraging. Of course, regular-season action is far different, but this is a good sign. Hield will play plenty of important minutes when Curry is on the bench, and he'll be relied on to carry a solid amount of the scoring load with the second unit.

Loser: Gary Payton II

As he dealt with several injury issues a season ago, Gary Payton II only appeared in 44 games for the Warriors, averaging 15.5 minutes per outing.

But that number may drop significantly during this upcoming campaign. It's not that he's played overly poorly during the preseason; it's just that those with whom he'll be competing for minutes off the bench have played better.

Payton's defense will always be an asset. But De'Anthony Melton is a solid defender as well and will likely get the nod in most situations because he's better offensively. Don't be surprised if Payton is used as trade bait a few months down the line because, truth be told, the Warriors may simply not need him any longer.

Loser: Quinten Post

Quinten Post's goal of cracking the regular-season rotation is about to come to an abrupt end, as the 52nd overall pick from this year's NBA draft is undoubtedly headed to Santa Cruz to fine-tune his game in the G League.

For those who've forgotten, the Warriors actually traded Post to the Portland Trail Blazers in the four-team trade that brought Lindy Waters III to the Bay, but was brought back in a trade with Portland for cash considerations.

Post has only played just over 27 minutes in the preseason and hasn't made good use of that time, shooting 2-for-12 from the floor and 1-for-7 from the three-point line. With Draymond Green, Trayce Jackson-Davis, and Kevon Looney all set to get minutes at center, there's simply no room for Post at this point.