Getty Christian Wood, formerly of the Rockets
The Dallas Mavericks went to Plan B immediately after they knew that Jalen Brunson was not returning. Even though Brunson signed his contract two weeks after the Mavs acquired Christian Wood back on June 15, there have been rumblings that it was an open secret in league circles that Brunson would be signing with the New York Knicks.
It’s been nearly two months since the Dallas Mavericks struck a deal to acquire Christian Wood from Houston, but Wood has finally spoken.
Wood visited the Mavs Academy Hoop Camp in Plano and surprised the kids who were there. Afterwards, he talked with the media about the kids and his intentions with the Mavs next season.
“I was once that little kid that would look up to NBA players and hope that he would sign my shoe or hope that I would be able to meet him in person,” Wood says. “With kids, I can be myself and I can be a kid myself. So it’s fun.”
Most of the questions were regarding the basketball camp, but he did briefly talk about his role with the Mavericks.
“It’s a great opportunity for me and for this organization to try and take that next step,” he said. “I just want to win games. My main objective is to try and get to the Finals.”
Dallas Mavericks newcomer Christian Wood surprised a bunch of kids today at the Mavs Academy Hoop Camp.
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We spoke with @Chriswood_5 afterward to get his first on-camera comments about the camp, the trade and joining the Mavs.
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#MFFL | @wfaa
Christian Wood Hopes to Take Mavericks to Next Level
The Mavs stunned a lot of people by getting to the conference finals. People knew Luka Doncic was good, but they did not realize he was good enough to dethrone the defending conference champions, Phoenix Suns, and play deep into May.
The addition of Wood gives the Mavericks a big man who can do more than set picks and finish around the rim. A career 38% shooter from the perimeter, his ability to shoot the three will make opponents think twice before doubling Doncic.
JaVale McGee is expected to start at center for the Mavs, so Wood doesn’t have to worry about being the lone big protecting the rim next season. Moving Dwight Powell back to a backup role seems more useful as Powell is probably best used in certain matchups.
Insider Believes Christian Wood Trade Is Most Impactful
ESPN recently had a roundtable of insiders and asked them numerous questions about how the offseason went for multiple teams. During the topic of underrated moves that teams made that would have the biggest impact, Ohn Youngmisuk thinks Dallas would be that team.
Christian Wood fills all the things Dallas was missing in the postseason — a big man who can spread the floor and score — if he’s in the right frame of mind. He should be able to give Luka Doncic much needed help, and JaVale McGee will give them some much-needed rim protection.
Mavs fans know quite well that all of this sounds great on paper, but some may be hesitant after how Kristaps Porzingis’ tenure in Dallas went. Porzingis was considered to be one of the rising big man stars after putting up nice numbers in New York, but after he came to the Mavs, he failed to impact the floor much. It didn’t help that it was apparent the chemistry of Porzingis and Doncic were never on the same page.