Christian Wood took another shot at the Dallas Mavericks this week after signing with the Los Angeles Lakers.
At this point, it’s something of an open secret that Wood’s time with the Mavs didn’t go as planned.
Originally, the 27-year-old was brought in as a natural frontcourt complement to Luka Doncic. On paper, the pair’s offensive capabilities appeared very promising.
Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work out that way.
Mavs head coach Jason Kidd hated Wood from the jump and wasn’t shy about showing it. Eventually, Wood got fed up as well.
Their dysfunctional relationship led to Wood spending large swaths of the season on the bench and him having no takers in free agency this summer.
Wood’s loss proved to be L.A.’s gain, as the Lakers were able to scoop Wood up on a team friendly, $5.7 million contract.
Shortly after committing to spending the next couple of seasons in Los Angeles, Wood initially expressed his happiness and then took a shot at the Mavs for their treatment of him.
“I’ve always wanted to be a Laker,” he told Marc J. Spears of Andscape.
“I know we can win a championship. Communication with a coach is a big key. [Lakers] Coach [Darvin] Ham and I go back to our Milwaukee [Bucks] days, and we’ve had great conversations everyday about this opportunity,” Wood continued.
“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 [for sure] motivated after what Dallas did.”
That last line obviously speaks for itself.
Jared Goff’s fiancée stole the show during the Lions game. https://t.co/DPLrtl8xby
— Game 7 (@game7__) September 8, 2023
At the end of the day, Wood has some very real deficiencies as a player. He can be a huge defensive liability and a bit of a black hole on offense.
That said – he is also a very talented offensive player. And L.A. definitely got him on the cheap.
Will Wood be able to revive his career with the Lakers and make the Mavs rue the day they treated him so poorly? An answer one way or the other will emerge next season.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
