Report: Christian Wood Traded to Mavericks, Rockets Get No. 26 Draft Pick, More
The Houston Rockets are reportedly trading Christian Wood to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for the No. 26 overall pick in the 2022 NBA draft and veterans Boban Marjanovic, Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss, per multiple reports.
The 26-year-old was in the middle of his second season, though it wasn't devoid of drama.
Rockets coach Stephen Silas benched Wood for missing his COVID-19 testing window ahead of the Jan. 1 game against the Denver Nuggets. The player then refused to re-enter the game in the second half after Kevin Porter Jr. had an argument with the staff and left the arena.
He was suspended one game. In 68 games for the Rockets last season he averaged 17.9 points and 10.1 rebounds.
While Wood has flashed skills since joining the Rockets, that locker room squabble was far from his first issue. There were some concerns about Wood in the pre-draft process after his one season at UNLV, and he bounced around the NBA before breaking out in 2019-20 with the Detroit Pistons and then inking a three-year deal in Houston.
“Lots of those guys who were drafted ahead of me aren’t in the league [anymore]. I’ve been to China, I’ve been cut, I’ve been told I wasn’t good enough. But I’m still here," he told Yaron Weitzman of The Ringer in 2020.
The Mavericks will hope another change of scenery gets the Long Beach, California native—who has one year and $14.3 million remaining on his contract—back on track.
