With the 2023-24 season officially over, the Los Angeles Lakers will turn to the offseason where major changes are expected along the roster.
The Lakers wasted no time cleaning house as they fired head coach Darvin Ham and his coaching staff and will begin the search for a new head coach. Aside from Ham, there are several players on Los Angeles’ roster that are set to become free agents or have the ability to do so depending what they do with their player options.
One such player is Christian Wood, who unfortunately was forced to miss the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs after undergoing a procedure on his knee. Wood played 50 games for the Lakers, mostly coming off the bench and seeing inconsistent minutes.
While it was a disappointing end to his season, Wood said he loved playing in his hometown and vowed to be healthier for the 2024-25 season, via his personal X account:
Loved my first year playing for my Hometown team, I Wish I wasn’t hurt majority of the season, But all in all it was a dream come True for me.. I will be better and 100% healthy next season .
— 35 (@Chriswood_5) May 3, 2024
It’s always fun to see players get to come back home and play for the teams they rooted for growing up, and in Wood’s case it sounded like he got to live out his dream. He also sounded like he was leaning toward picking up his player option for the 2024-25 season, which is worth just over $3 million.
Because of his injury history and lack of rim protection and rebounding, Wood might be better off staying with L.A. anyway because they’ll need more big man depth behind Anthony Davis next season. The team will likely go out in search of a more traditional big man to help the defensive end, but Wood could slot in as a nice third option if the Lakers want more floor spacing and scoring.
Lakers head coaching candidates include Mike Budenholzer, Kenny Atkinson, Tyronn Lue and JJ Redick
With Ham and the rest of his staff out the door, the Lakers should cast a wide net in their search for the team’s next head coach. Shortly after Ham’s dismissal was announced, an initial list of candidates was reported to include former head coaches Mike Budenholzer and Kenny Atkinson, as well as current L.A. Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue and JJ Redick.
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