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Jason Kidd didn't want Christian Wood to join the Dallas Mavericks before the team's front office trading for the big man last summer on draft night. Last offseason, the Mavericks traded No. 26-picked Wendell Moore, Boban Marjanovic, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss to the Houston Rockets.
In exchange, they acquired Christian Wood, who recorded 34 double-doubles in the previous season. At the time, the move seemed like a good one for Dallas, as Wood brought some serious production to the center position.
Unfortunately for the team, while Wood performed in his role, he largely wound up coming off the bench despite faring well. Although he averaged 16.6 points per game, the Mavericks missed the playoffs, fueling a rift between the two sides that recently saw them part ways with Wood.
Although they could have re-signed him, they instead allowed him to walk, with the LA Lakers signing him this offseason to a $5,745,889 contract. According to reports from ESPN's Tim MacMahon, Mavericks coach Jason Kidd never wanted the team to trade for Wood in the first place.
On a recent episode of The Hoops Collective alongside Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps, he discussed everything from James Harden's ongoing contract dispute to the 2022 trade for Wood and everything in between.
"The worst thing a lot of NBA players do is surround themselves with people who only tell them what they want to hear. What Christian Wood wants to hear is, 'you're an all-star, you're an all-star.' No dude, you're not. You have a chance to be a phenomenal bench scorer in the NBA."
"That's what the league thinks your potential is. The Dallas Mavericks tried to put him in that role, he pouted and moped. And straight up, Jason Kidd did not want Christian Wood. That trade was made without J-Kidd signing off on it"
Looking at Christian Wood's recent signing with LA Lakers
Although the Dallas Mavericks weren't a great fit for Christian Wood, the big man seems to be hopeful that things work out with the LA Lakers. Being just 27, there's still time for Wood to find his rhythm in the league. While he may not be a traditional big man, in today's NBA, his perimeter game could be a huge asset to LA.
Moreover, there's something to be said for the fact that Christian Wood is eager to play for the Lakers. As many have pointed out in the past, his effort on defense is the biggest pitfall of his game.
Given that he seems to be enthusiastic about the move, many seem to be holding onto hope that Wood takes things to a new level at the defensive end of the court. Following the report of his signing, he took to Twitter explaining what a contract with the Lakers means to him.
With the preseason set to tip off in October, the big question for LA will be how the coaching staff handles rotations this season. With Anthony Davis eager to play less minutes at the center position, the team's rotations could see a big shake-up.
