The Dallas Mavericks made their star offseason addition prior to the opening of the free agency window when they traded for Christian Wood prior to the 2022 NBA Draft. The trade was formalized after the Draft, as the Mavs sent role-players like Boban Marjanovic, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke, and Marquese Chriss, along with their 2022 first-round pick.
Wood is going to be very important for the Mavs, as he is a stretch-5 that can protect the paint and score on all three levels of the court. As a result, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk picked Wood to be the most impactful trade of the summer because of what he provides to the Mavs considering the weaknesses the team showed in the Playoffs, especially with rim protection and rebounding.
“Christian Wood fills all the things Dallas was missing in the postseason – a big man who can spread the floor and score – if he’s in the right frame of mind. He should be able to give Luka Doncic much needed help, and JaVale McGee will give them some much-needed rim protection.” (h/t ESPN)
Christian Wood is going to be a PROBLEM in Dallas 🔥🔥#MFFL pic.twitter.com/y4xcl7Ev9F
— MFFL NATION (@NationMffl) July 27, 2022
Christian Wood will have to play as well as he possibly can, considering he is in a contract year and needs to play up his value to get a better deal from either the Mavericks or someone else.
He does bring a lot of fantastic gifts to the table for the Mavs this season. Wood is going to be a lethal pick-and-roll partner with Luka, as he has the ability to either roll to the basket for a layup or dunk while also having the ability to get the ball and make a 3-pointer. Wood is expected to start the season off the bench.
His defense may not be as solid as many think it will be, but the Mavs have thought of that and acquired JaVale McGee as a lob threat and a rim protector. The Mavs had no playable bigs outside Maxi Kleber in the Playoffs and this year, they’re looking to come back with their major reinforcements.
