Stephen Silas Sees Mavs as Major Opportunity for Christian Wood
Christian Wood committed to join the Houston Rockets in Nov. 2020 with the hope of being the missing piece next to James Harden and Russell Westbrook amid title contention hopes. Things unraveled quickly due to trade requests from the superstar backcourt, and that placed Wood at the start of a rebuild.
Wood played with Harden for a short period before he ultimately sat out and was traded to the Brooklyn Nets. In the seven games the two played together, Wood averaged 23.0 points, 8.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists.
Wood spent two seasons with the Rockets before ultimately being traded to the Dallas Mavericks over the summer for a trade package featuring the No. 26 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. With the emergence of Alperen Sengun, the Rockets traded Wood to a team coming off a Western Conference Finals appearance as they continue to develop young talent in a rebuild.
With Luka Doncic leading the Mavs' offense, Rockets coach Stephen Silas sees the Mavs as being a similar opportunity for Wood that he had in his short stint with Harden. Not only that, it could be a great chance to show his skill-set in the playoffs.
“I told him that him playing with Luka is going to be great for him because when he played with James Harden for a short period of time, his rolls and pops are different when you’re playing with a guy who really makes those plays like Luka,” Silas said before Wednesday’s game. “So, I told him that he should be excited about two things: about playing with Luka, but also playing for this organization that just went to the Western Conference Finals.
“I don’t think he’s ever been in the playoffs before, so the opportunity for him to play for a team like this is something that I’m happy for him.”
After entering the NBA undrafted in 2015, Wood has gone through many situations before solidifying himself with the Detroit Pistons in the 2019-20 season. Including the Mavs, he's played for seven NBA teams and four G League organizations.
“He knows the business better than anybody,” Silas said. “He’s been through a lot. But he’s grown up a lot as he’s gone through. He came in basically as a kid and then has had ups and downs and successes. And he’s continuing to get better and better with his maturity and his game. So, I’m proud of him.”
Wood has played a bench role for the Mavs and has averaged 16.7 points and 7.5 rebounds while shooting 55.7 percent from the floor and 42.5 percent from 3-point range. He trails only Doncic (34.4) and Spencer Dinwiddie (17.6) in scoring when compared to the rest of the team.
Kidd recently explained that both Wood and Tim Hardaway Jr. could 'easily start' for the Mavs, but the team feels they are best served utilizing them in their bench unit.
“He’s done everything that we’ve asked, he’s been great,” Mavs coach Jason Kidd said. “You look at accepting his role, coming off the bench. He and Timmy (Hardaway Jr.) could easily start for us. But we felt like having those two coming off the bench is something that gives us the advantage. And C-Wood has done an incredible job.”
Given the limited nature of the Mavs' starting lineups' offensive impact around their guards, the potential increased utilization of Wood's skill-set may be required as teams continue to intensify how they're loading up on Doncic.
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