The Los Angeles Lakers recently made their final splash of the offseason, reportedly agreeing to a two-year contract with big man Christian Wood with the second year being a player option.
Wood has bounced around the league, playing for seven teams in the last seven seasons although he has been productive every step of the way.
While there may be some concerns about Wood, there’s no denying that the Lakers getting him on a minimum deal is a steal, especially given there isn’t anyone else left out there that has his skill set as a center that can stretch the floor.
Wood is come off a solid season with the Dallas Mavericks in which he averaged 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 blocks in 25.9 minutes per game while shooting 37.6% on 4.2 attempts per game from beyond the arc.
Despite that solid season though and Dallas giving up draft capital to acquire him a year ago, they didn’t seem to have much interest in bringing him back this summer. That will give motivation to Wood moving forward as he told Marc J. Spears of Andscape in his first statement since signing with the Lakers:
Christian Wood statement to @andscape about signing with the Lakers. The former Mavericks forward opted not to discuss his former team. pic.twitter.com/YvV1BJvgDH
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) September 6, 2023
Wood still being available this late in the offseason and not getting much interest across the league should certainly serve as a motivating factor the 27-year-old, who will have a chance to rebuild his value in L.A. for a season or two before going back out on the open market.
It remains to be seen what role Wood will play for the Lakers whether it be starting or coming off the bench, but as he mentioned, his past relationship with Darvin Ham will help with that going into training camp.
The Lakers have a very versatile roster and could go a number of different directions when it comes to lineups and playing time, so it will be up to Ham to manage those egos and get everyone to buy-in as he did last season.
Lakers roster set at 14 with Wood addition
After the signing of Wood, the Lakers’ roster now sits at 14 players. While teams are allowed to carry 15, the Lakers typically go into the season with an open roster spot to maintain flexibility and that is expected to be the case again this season.
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