Lakers' Christian Wood makes $3 million contract decision
07/05/2024 19:09
The 2024 offseason is shaping up to be a crucial one for the Los Angeles Lakers. The pressure to maximize the twilight of LeBron James’ career is greater than ever, necessitating wholesale changes for one of the league’s most historically successful franchises. But before the Lakers look towards making the necessary moves to build a contending team, they have to assess the players they have left on the roster. One of those players will be Christian Wood after he picked up his player option for the 2024-25 season, per Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.
The Lakers brought Wood in as a buy-low option after his value tanked amid a horrid end to his stint with the Dallas Mavericks. Wood was an electric scorer who was seemingly a snug fit alongside Anthony Davis. However, Wood didn’t exactly move the needle for the Lakers as he averaged just 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds in 17.4 minutes per game — his worst output in years.
At the very least, the Lakers could use Wood’s contract as filler in potential trades; his contract isn’t big at all, and his deal only runs for one more season. The Purple and Gold could keep him, as there are few higher-upside options available on the market who would willingly take a role as a backup big, but this past season was a disappointing one for the 28-year old and it won’t be too surprising if the Lakers are itching to move on.
Christian Wood was not the answer
Lakers fans hyped up the arrival of Christian Wood on a two-year, $6 million deal last offseason, and for understandable reason. After all, Wood was coming off a season in which he averaged 16.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game for a Mavericks team that yanked his role all season long.
The Mavericks gave up on Wood for a reason, however, and that being his lack of defensive impact. Wood’s defensive positioning is questionable, his rim-protection skills are suspect, and he isn’t exactly a resolute presence on the glass. The Mavs were very much outrebounded and outscored in the paint whenever Wood was in town.
Wood became the catalyst for the Mavericks’ decision to draft Dereck Lively II, as they wanted a mobile and athletic rim-protecting lob threat at the five instead of a perimeter threat who allowed more points than he scored. Nonetheless, the Lakers, for such a bargain price, added a 16-7 guy who can stretch the floor and prop up the team’s offense whenever LeBron James or Anthony Davis need to take a breather.
However, Wood did not adjust particularly well to a full-time bench role. He didn’t command touches as well, as scoring and playmaking duties fell to the shoulders of James, Davis, Austin Reaves, and D’Angelo Russell. Darvin Ham rarely trusted Wood with heavy minutes until he needed arthroscopic surgery to address his knee injury.
In the end, Wood did not match expectations in his first year with the Lakers. His plan to try and rebuild his value with a prove it 1+1 deal didn’t work, and now, he had to resort to Plan B, which is to opt into his $3 million contract for next season. He could have tried to sign a deal with another team, perhaps a lottery-bound one, to try and regain his value, but after undergoing surgery, he opted to play it safe.
An offseason full of possibilities for the Lakers
The comfort for the Lakers is that Christian Wood’s decision to opt into his contract for next season won’t prevent them at all from executing whatever it is they’re planning for this offseason. They have a few tradeable contracts, with Rui Hachimura, Austin Reaves, Gabe Vincent, and Jarred Vanderbilt all making $10 to $17 million a year, and D’Angelo Russell could join that list if he decides to opt into his $18.7 million contract for next season.
Many expect the Lakers to go star-hunting; Trae Young appears to be at the top of their trade target list, while they also expressed interest in Zach LaVine and Dejounte Murray prior to the February 8 trade deadline.
It’s unclear how much their trade targets would move the needle; the Lakers need more athletic defenders who can shoot and a deadly scoring/playmaking threat who could help keep the team afloat as LeBron James, if he re-signs, would most certainly require a few off days here and there.
Still, there are few more attractive prospects in the NBA than to play for a historically great franchise in the Lakers and to play with a historically great player in James. The possibilities are endless for the Lakers as they try to put yet another playoff exit at the hands of the Denver Nuggets in the rearview mirror.
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