BREAKING: Mavs Ex Christian Wood to Sign with LeBron James' Lakers
After playing the 2022-23 season with the Dallas Mavericks, Christian Wood is set to join a Western Conference rival. He averaged 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 67 appearances as he played out the final year of his contract.
According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Christian Wood has agreed to a two-year contract with the Los Angeles Lakers. The first year salary is projected to be $2.7 million and includes a $3 million final-year player option.
Wood was traded to the Mavs ahead of the 2022 NBA Draft in exchange for a package that included the 26th overall pick, along with contracts of four players that hadn't been in the rotation in the previous season.
The Lakers' motivation for signing Wood likely involves his ability to serve as an efficient floor spacing option due to his catch-and-shoot ability, while also being more than capable of being a versatile roll man and playing out of the post against a mismatch.
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Alongside a rim protector and versatile defender like Anthony Davis, the Lakers are better equipped to have Wood in more of a low-man role, or to switch against screening actions, as opposed to being the defensive anchor as he was at times with the Mavs.
When playing with the bench unit, the goal likely is for Wood's shooting ability to help space the floor to help to overcome Jarred Vanderbilt's limitations. Meanwhile, Vanderbilt's defensive versatility can help to enhance the unit while Wood is on the floor.
For a Lakers team that dealt with its superstars, Davis and LeBron James, missing stretches of games, bringing in a player like Wood could help to provide a needed offensive spark when those situations occur. The team particularly lacked an option in the frontcourt to provide an offensive punch when Davis misses time.
The Lakers did sign Jaxson Hayes and re-signed Rui Hachimura in the offseason, enabling them with many frontcourt combinations to try in the short-term. The team will be able to experiment with what works and re-evaluate the options next summer.
