While teams love Wood’s talent and offensive skills, there are reasons why he’s available. “If LeBron [James] can get him to toe the line, it cements LeBron as the greatest player of all time,” one NBA source said. “That’s how hard it is.” Among players listed as centers on basketball-reference.com, only nine have ever averaged at least 16.5 points, seven rebounds and 1.5 made threes on 37% shooting for a season. Of those nine, only Karl-Anthony Towns, Kristaps Porzingis and Wood have done it multiple times.
Towns and Porzingis each will make more than $36 million next season. How’s it possible the Lakers would get Wood for less than $2.5 million? Sources around the league point to two major deficiencies. One, despite the blocked shots, Wood’s contributions on defense are lacking, frustrating former coaches and teammates. And two, there seems to be a disconnect between what Wood thinks of his place in the league and how the league as a whole views him. There are related concerns about his professionalism.
Sources say the team has done significant background work on Wood. Coach Darvin Ham was in Milwaukee when Wood played 13 games there in 2018-19. Anthony Davis played with Wood in New Orleans at the end of that year, as well. Assistant JD DuBois was with Wood in Detroit in 2019-20. Multiple members of last season’s Dallas Mavericks staff have close ties to the Lakers, James and Davis. The team knows well what he has done, what he hasn’t, what he can and what he can’t. And while there are other big men available who can space the floor — JaMychal Green for instance — no one else has Wood’s ceiling.
Miyerkules, Hulyo 19, 2023
[Woike] While teams love Christian Wood’s talent and offensive skills, there are reasons why he’s available. “If LeBron [James] can get him to toe the line, it cements LeBron as the greatest player of all time,” one NBA source said. “That’s how hard it is.”
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