Lakers News: Insider Lays Out Christian Wood's 'Greatest Value' to LA
In case you missed it, the Los Angeles Lakers signed forward Christian Wood to a deal lasting up to two years and worth up to a total of $5.7 million on Tuesday.
General manager Rob Pelinka and the Lakers brass definitely found great value in the skilled big man, and Jovan Buha of The Athletic detailed what he feels is the "greatest value" Wood brings to Los Angeles.
"Wood’s greatest value to the Lakers may be as insurance for injuries in the regular season. When Davis misses time, which is seemingly inevitable, Wood can step in and assume a greater offensive role."
The Lakers signed Davis to a record breaking, market-setting extension last month, but the deal comes with the knowledge of Davis' injury history.
He's played in 132 out of a possible 246 regular season games over the last three years due to assorted injuries and load management, so the odds that Davis misses significant stretches is, unfortunately, predictable.
And in case the star goes down, LA has one of the better insurance policies in the NBA.
While he won't provide the same level of rebounding that Davis does, Wood is still advanced in that area as he put up 7.3 per contest last year.
Additionally, he has a polished offensive skill set as he can hit the mid-range shot reliably and also stretch the floor from deep. He shot the three at a 38 percent clip for the Dallas Mavericks last year.
Los Angeles got tremendous value for the young power forward. He'll be just 28 years old when the season begins, and he should be a great boost off the bench. Or he could even play alongside Davis at times.
Either way, it'll be interesting to see what role head coach Darvin Ham opts to use him in, and the Lakers polished off their roster that should prove to be a contender this year.
