Getty Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks and Christian Wood #35 of the Dallas Mavericks.
Things just went from bad to worse for the Dallas Mavericks. Big man Christian Wood, who has missed over a week with a thumb fracture, is expected to miss more time than initially expected.
NBA insider Marc Stein provided the medical update on February 2.
“Christian Wood’s thumb fracture on his non-shooting hand was initially expected to sideline him for one week,” Stein wrote. “League sources now say Dallas’ Wood, who Thursday will miss his seventh consecutive game due to the injury, is unlikely to play before next week at the earliest.”
The news couldn’t come at a worse time for Dallas. Losers in six of their last ten, the Mavericks are hurtling toward a challenging stretch of the schedule. Over the next two weeks, Dallas will face off against the Warriors, Jazz, Clippers, and Kings (twice), before a showdown with the conference-leading Nuggets on February 15.
It projects to be a gauntlet, with each of those teams above .500. The Clippers, as it stands, are jockeying with Dallas for home-court advantage in the conference’s playoff race, while the Kings and Nuggets are working hard to fend off teams like the Mavericks.
Since Wood went down, the Mavericks are just 4-3. This after going 13-7 in December and climbing to near the top of the Western Conference.
Mavericks Eyeing Contract Extension With Wood
Stein also weighed in on the status of Wood’s contract situation with Dallas. Wood is slated to become a free agent this summer, though he’s been extension-eligible for around a month now with Dallas.
Per Stein, talks are still a long way away.
“The Mavericks have opened contract extension talks with Wood, but sources say those talks remain in the preliminary stages,” Stein wrote. “Although Dallas has until the end of June to hash out an extension with Wood, keeping him on the roster beyond the trade deadline does expose the Mavericks to potentially losing him without compensation should Wood elect to be an unrestricted free agent on June 30.”
While the Mavericks might have until June to get a deal done, the real timeline might be significantly sooner.
If Dallas fails to get a deal done, or reasonably feels that Wood will test unrestricted free agency, they risk him leaving for naught this summer.
But that hardly means Dallas must move Wood now. Wood’s been Luka Doncic’s best running mate in Dallas this season; lineups featuring Wood and Doncic are outscoring opponents by a strong 6.6 points per 100 possessions.
Unfortunately, those lineups are also coughing up an ugly 115.7 points per 100 possessions, which is an ice-cold mark. If Dallas was to upgrade at center, it would almost certainly be looking for a defensive anchor in the frontcourt.
Mavericks Eyeing Deandre Ayton?
Who might that center upgrade be, exactly?
During a recent episode on ESPN’s The Lowe Post podcast, Tim MacMahon suggested the Mavericks have an eye out for Suns big man Deandre Ayton.
“(Ayton) is a name that I’ve heard around the Mavericks,” MacMahon said. “And again, I think that would have to be a later than-right-now type of situation.”
It would make sense for the Mavs to be in a wait-and-see mode with Ayton. The priority is likely to get Wood an extension, but given his uncertainty, it’s not surprising to see Ayton’s name linked to Dallas.
Ayton is putting up 17.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game this season with Phoenix.