Lakers News: Details Revealed For Christian Wood's Fresh Prove-It Deal With LA
Well, it finally happened.
After months languished in the NBA rumor mill, your Los Angeles Lakers finally pounced, signing journeyman power forward/center Christian Wood, who's somehow still just 27, to a below-market deal just weeks before the start of training camp.
LA only had a minimum salary available, but due mostly to rumored chemistry issues with several of Wood's prior stops, the 6'10" big man saw his market league-wide dry up a bit.
This left the Lakers, who as you'll no doubt recall made it as far as the Western Conference Finals in the playoffs this spring (let's not talk about what happened then), free to tender a deal his way, dangling the promise of extended playing time and the opportunity of suiting up for the NBA's premiere franchise.
Now, Bobby Marks of ESPN has revealed the exact details of Wood's minimum deal. Considering that he's joining Los Angeles fresh off a three-year, $41 million contract he inked with the Houston Rockets, it's quite the discount.
He'll earn $2,709,849 during the 2023-24 season, his eighth in the league, and he'll have a player option for $3,036,040 in 2024-25. Depending on what happens with the club's roster that season (and how he performs this season), it seems highly likely he will decline that money in pursuit of a bigger, longer-term agreement.
The UNLV product will help spread the floor and clean the glass for LA. Across 289 regular season contests spent with the Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, Charlotte Hornets, New Orleans Pelicans, and Detroit Pistons, Wood boasts career averages of 14.8 points on .518/.379/.693 shooting splits (on 3.5 triple attempts a night), 7.3 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 0.9 blocks and 0.6 steals
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