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Christian Wood is one of the best remaining free agents available this offseason. Wood has already been linked to the LA Lakers, but he might be out of their price range unless he wants to take a pay cut.
However, the latest NBA rumors suggest that the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls are showing interest in the lanky big man. According to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, the Heat and Bulls are monitoring Wood's situation in free agency. Miami are reportedly interested in him once they acquire Damian Lillard from the Portland Trail Blazers.
That gives Chicago the advantage, as they recently got a player exception worth $10.2 million due to Lonzo Ball's injury. The Bulls could acquire Wood from the Dallas Maverics via sign-and-trade or offer him a straight-up one-year contract for next season.
With the Miami Heat, Wood could serve as either a starting power forward alongside Bam Adebayo or be their top backup off the bench. Wood could stretch the floor and provide some much-needed help on defense.
Wood could also do the same thing for the Chicago Bulls and start alongside Nikola Vucevic. However, the Bulls also have someone with the same size and skillset as Wood in Patrick Williams. Chicago even has Andre Drummond as a backup center, so it remains to be seen how he fits with the Bulls.
Dan Woike added that there's a reason why the 27-year-old big man remains a free agent and why the Dallas Mavericks let him go for free despite his production. Woike noted that Wood has maturity issues, considering he has played for seven teams in as many seasons in the NBA.
"Sources around the league point to two major deficiencies," Woike wrote. "One, despite the blocked shots, Wood's contributions on defense are lacking, frustrating former coaches and teammates.
"And two, there seems to be a disconnect between what Wood thinks of his place in the league and how the league as a whole views him. There are related concerns about his professionalism."
LA Lakers no longer interested in Christian Wood?
LA Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka discussed the possibility of adding another big in an interview during the NBA 2K24 Summer League.
Pelinka, who didn't name-drop Christian Wood, explained to reporters that he's not planning on bringing another big man with the same skillset as Jaxson Hayes.
"We don't want to sign someone who replicates the skills that Jaxson Hayes has," Pelinka said. "So if we can diversify the big position and have different looks, that would be good."
