Christian Wood is one of the great success stories in the NBA today. After going undrafted in 2015, Wood spent years toiling in the G League and his efforts were finally rewarded in 2019, as he had a breakout year with the Pistons. He parlayed that into a three-year $41 million contract with the Rockets and had his best season as a pro with the team in 2020-21, as he averaged 21 points per game.
With the Rockets still in rebuild mode, however, they wanted to give some of their youngsters more playing time, which meant that Wood was expendable, despite his fine play on the court. They would finally get a trade partner in the Dallas Mavericks, who acquired him for a first-round pick and some role players. Wood expressed his excitement at joining the Mavs, who are fresh off of making the Western Conference Finals.
Huge opportunity in Dallas I’m excited ..
— 35 (@Chriswood_5) June 24, 2022
It is a huge opportunity no doubt, as Wood finally gets to play on a competitive team after his time with the Pistons and Rockets. It is a progressive next step for him as he looks to help Luka Doncic and a Mavs team that did have some holes to fill despite their deep playoff run. They especially lacked a competent big man as Kevon Looney, of all people, absolutely crushed them on the boards in the Western Conference Finals against the Warriors. Luka led the team in rebounds last season and getting Wood, who averaged 10.1 rebounds per game in 2021-22, should help them improve in that department.
His scoring is also a big help, of course, as the Mavs lacked consistent scoring threats with the exception of Luka and Jalen Brunson. The latter’s future is still up in the air and if the Mavs do end up losing him, then having Wood around does lessen the blow a bit. This was a win-now trade for the Mavs, though, and they’ll be hoping to keep Brunson around as well, as they try to surround Doncic with some talent in the hopes of winning their first title since 2011.
