Mavs Rumor: Coach Jason Kidd Never Approved Christian Wood Trade
When attempting to assemble a championship-level team, chemistry can be just as important as overall talent … and that goes for coaches’ relationships with players as well.
Things didn’t go according to plan for Christian Wood after he was traded from the Houston Rockets to the Dallas Mavericks last summer. Although he had some bright spots for Dallas throughout last season, he never could carve out a consistent role in head coach Jason Kidd’s rotation. According to a recent rumor from ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, we might be getting some extra insight into why Wood and Kidd were never able to hit it off.
“Straight up, Jason Kidd did not want Christian Wood,” MacMahon said on the latest episode of The Hoop Collective podcast with Brian Windhorst. “That trade was made without J-Kidd signing off on it.”
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After a failed season that resulted in the Mavs not making the postseason for the first time since Luka Doncic’s rookie campaign in 2018-19, Dallas opted not to even bother trying to re-sign Wood in free agency this summer. Instead, Wood ended up signing a two-year veteran’s minimum deal with the Los Angeles Lakers a few days ago, and he threw some shade at Kidd on his way out of Dallas.
"I've always wanted to be a Laker. I know we can win a championship," Wood told Andscape. "Communication with a coach is a big key. Coach [Darvin] Ham and I go back to our Milwaukee days, and we've had great conversations everyday about this opportunity. He believes in me and told me I'll be playing a big role and knows what I can do. I'm looking forward to this, and [I'm for sure] motivated after what Dallas did."
No matter what differences Kidd and Wood had, the slate has been wiped clean for both of them heading into the 2023-24 season. The Mavs and Lakers have had some highly-exciting matchups over the last few years, and this drama certainly adds another interesting wrinkle into the mix.
