- The Lakers have been interested in signing Christian Wood
- The team needs a backup center behind Anthony Davis
- Wood has expressed interest in playing for the Miami Heat
Christian Wood to the Los Angeles Lakers has been doing the rounds for some time now, with two other teams in the fray to sign the center.
But according to Bleacher Report’s Erik Beaston, the Lakers are better off without Wood and opined that the team shouldn’t make a move for the big man. He had one reason: Wood was a liability on the defensive end.
“There is no question about his offensive skills. His defense, though, is suspect, and therein lies the problem. Any big man is going to be counted on to contribute defensively, and in Dallas, he struggled mightily.”
Beaston charted out the numbers first giving an explanation as to why the Lakers are right in their interest to sign the Dallas big.
“He has averaged 21, 17.9, and 16.6 points per game over the last three seasons, respectively. His three-point percentage has been well-above 35 since 2019-2020, and he has consistently executed over 50 percent of his field goals during that span.”
But the defense is a problem.
And we’re inclined to agree. The last time Wood indeed played great defense was with Houston. But the version seems far from the present when analyzing his performances on that end over the last couple of seasons.
The Los Angeles Lakers Need Another Big Man To Help Anthony Davis
While Anthony Davis is the Lakers’ greatest strength (after LeBron James, of course), he is also their weapon who, if fizzled out, can derail their entire season. This is the only reason LA needs another backup center.
It’s worth noting that Davis has missed well over 40 games over the last couple of seasons, and Jaxon Hayes is the only option. That is way less support for the Lakers if they intend to make a championship run.
The Lakers have options, but they will need to weigh their options carefully if they intend to have another big who can support the non-AD minutes and games. And if they indeed decide to go for Wood, it will be interesting to see if Darvin Ham and James can unlock a better version of him.
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