12-14-2022, 11:04 PM
(12-14-2022, 11:19 AM)DanSchwartzgan Wrote: They nailed the write-up on Wood pretty well IMHO (below). Encouraging from a trade value standpoint that he’s ranked so highly. Unfortunately, I’d probably trade him for almost any of the six bigs ranked after him (Carter, Zubac, Vuc., JV, Collins and Olynyk) and several who aren’t ranked (Poeltl, Claxton, Hartenstein and Adams). So, I’m not sure he’s ranked properly. Interesting that Utah has two ranked bigs that wouldn’t have come close to sniffing this list a year ago.
I think the proper trade destination for Wood is a team that needs to put butts in seats and has reason to believe they can extract more value for him in a rehab than it took to get him. Maybe that’s what Dallas thought last summer. Unfortunately, the expiring contract makes that trickier now than it was last summer. The only real avenue for some other team to extract that value would be a S&T this summer assuming Wood is worth more than the MLE and a non cap room team wants him.
ANALYSIS
What’s the catch with Christian Wood? Everywhere he goes, he puts up numbers. He tantalizes with a remarkably well-rounded skill set that makes him, in many ways, a dream pick-and-roll big. And then, inevitably, he falls out of favor.
It’s still a bit shocking that the Mavericks’ most productive big man plays so little, even while understanding Wood’s spacier defensive habits. There are bigs who can be counted on to be in perfect position in coverage, and then there’s Wood—liable to be a step out of place or a half-beat late in rotation, falling short in the exact ways that drive a coach up the wall.
Honestly, he’s probably worth the trouble anyway. What Wood’s team loses in defensive precision, it makes up through the sheer breadth of his skill set. The only bigs who can finish, handle, and shoot like Wood are no-questions-asked All-Stars. The talent is there. Yet unless Wood drills down on some of the more thankless parts of the job—more attentive defense, sturdier screens, more diligent box-outs—he may never have the chance to prove that he can play at that level. —Rob Mahoney
We have talked about this before, but seeing this list just gets me thinking…is it easier to find a top 25 player like Jaylen Brown or add two more top 100 players to your roster ( to get 5 total)?