Getty Christian Wood of the Dallas Mavericks.
The Dallas Mavericks are in a very weird spot right now. They made a huge splash at the trade deadline when they traded for Kyrie Irving, but with both Luka Doncic and Irving sidelined as of late, the team has been struggling to keep up their place in the Western Conference standings.
Meanwhile, Christian Wood had failed to maintain a consistent spot in the rotation all year. His contract is up at the end of the year, but according to sources who spoke with Sean Deveney of Heavy Sports, it might be hard to justify a big contract for Wood, despite the Mavericks having the advantage of leverage in negotiations.
“It depends on what the market is for him in free agency, but I can tell you, the market is not going to be great. That’s advantage, Mavericks. So they should be able to keep him on a contract similar to the one he got last time (three years, $41 million) from the Rockets, probably with an option. He has been a decent enough value for them that if they can keep it going at the same contract, they would have to there are not a ton of other options there. But if he gets $20 million per year from another team (it is not something they want to do because of the Brunson thing), that would be hard to justify.
Wood has played well this year but has been consistently shoved below the likes od Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber in the Mavericks’ rotation. However, he could demand a pretty penny in free agency despite the lack of suitors.
The big man has appeared in 57 of the team’s 70 games this year and is playing 26.6 minutes per contest. He is averaging 17.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game on 52.1% shooting from the field and 36.8% shooting from behind the three-point line.
Jason Kidd Sounds Off on Christian Wood Minutes
After a recent loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd spoke about Wood’s minutes and place in the rotation.
“You look at just the depth that we have with all the bigs, we’re trying to get them in the game and see who has the hot hand, and right now, with Maxi [Kleber] back, that’s going to cut some of his minutes down, especially when we’re healthy. That’s just the way it is right now, and it can change as we go forward,” Kidd said via Grant Afseth of DallasBasketball.com.
Josh Green Sends Message on Christian Wood
In the Mavericks’ recent win over the San Antonio Spurs, Wood was drawing a ton of attention in overtime. After the game, Josh Green spoke about that point in the game and what was going through his head.
“I mean, if something’s working, I’m not going to complain,” Green said via the Fanatics View YouTube channel. “It’s just that simple. If they can’t guard a certain thing, you keep going back to it. And if it’s working, it’s working. Anything. No matter when it is in the game, first quarter or overtime.”