Christian Wood denies throwing shade at Darvin Ham for starting role snub: "Not basketball-related"

Christian Wood denied that he was throwing shade at LA Lakers coach Darvin Ham for picking Jaxson Hayes over him after his tweet following the 138-122 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.

With Anthony Davis rested, Wood was believed to be the automatic choice, but Hayes surprisingly started. That saw the former Dallas Mavericks big take to X with a "Lol," sparking buzz among fans that he took a shot at coach Ham for his non-selection.

When asked to clarify, Wood replied that he meant to QT something he thought was funny but accidentally just typed it out. He also added that his response was "not basketball-related" and that he would love to contribute more if given more minutes.

Hayes played 24 minutes for six points and as many rebounds, while Wood came off the bench to finish with nine points and eight rebounds.

The Lakers, though, were outmatched by Trae Young (26 points) and Dejounte Murray (24 points), while the rest of the starters and Bogdan Bogdanovich (18 points) hit double figures to get past LA.

The Davis-less Lakers unit was led by Austin Reaves (28 points) and LeBron James (20 points). D'Angelo Russell had just nine points as the Lakers offense sputtered.

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Was Christian Wood the more logical choice over Jaxson Hayes?

While Jaxson Hayes leans more towards defense, Christian Wood is a better two-way player, whose offensive skillset makes him better suited to start alongside Taurean Prince, LeBron James, Austin Reaves and D'Angelo Russell. Add his experience to the fray, he's logically the better choice.

The center has been in and out of the Lakers' rotation but has often made impactful splashes that have largely gone under the radar. Both Wood and Hayes joined the Lakers ahead of the season with veteran's minimum contracts as LA looked to beef up its frontcourt, keeping Anthony Davis' injuries in mind.

This season, Wood has averaged 7.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 1.0 assists in 42 games. Per 36 minutes, the big has propped up 14.1 points, 10.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.

The result, though, went against the Lakers who have begun their five-game road trip with consecutive losses. The focus will be on Davis' return and whether Christian Wood will be preferred over Hayes should the former NBA champion be rested during the road trip.