NBA
The LA Lakers have been rumored to want to add another center this offseason, Dallas’ Christian Wood could be that player
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated10 Jul 2023
For the Lakers, their roster is almost full for next season. During the current offseason, they’ve made a number of moves to keep some of their own talent. On top of that, the Lakers signed a few free agents for depth to the roster. They are not finished yet according to GM Rob Pelinka. He detailed that the Lakers are searching for a big man who can hold their own on offense. That is why Dallas’ Christain Wood is being rumored to the Lakers by NBA insiders.
This offseason, Wood is an unrestricted free agent. The 27-year-old has not had a lot of stability in his NBA career. He just finished his seventh NBA season and has played for seven different teams. If he signs with the Lakers this offseason, that will be eight teams in eight professional seasons.
However, the 2023-24 Lakers would easily be the best roster he’s played on. Bismack Biyambo and himself are the two big men that the Lakers are monitoring this offseason. There is still a lot of time for them to make a final decision on who they want to sign to one of their final roster spots.
The Lakers are interested in Christian Wood, per @jovanbuha pic.twitter.com/PDMbpI2Hw1
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) July 10, 2023
The Lakers might target Christian Wood this offseason as a depth piece on their roster
Last season, Wood played in 67 games for the Dallas Mavericks and made 17 starts. Despite coming off the bench in most of those games, he still averaged (16.6) points. He’s only been a full-time starter in the NBA for two of his seven seasons and both were with the Rockets.
If signed by the Lakers, Wood won’t be a starter. There would be an opportunity for him to play a similar role as he did with the Mavs. Wood played (25.9) minutes per game last season and shot (.376) percent from beyond the arc. He is the type of floor-spacing big that Rob Pelinka says the Lakers are looking for.
Recently, the Lakers signed free agent big man Jaxson Hayes to the team. Pelinka expressed that he’s more of a pick-and-roll type player with great defensive skills. The Lakers are interested in a player center with the opposite skill set of Hayes.
Christain Wood fits that role perfectly. Hayes is an above-average defender, Wood is not. On the other end, Wood is a solid scoring option off the bench. Jaxson Hayes is not. They could play complementary roles if they were both on the Lakes next season. The Athletic’s Jovan Buha noted that Wood is an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
