Stein: Christian Wood Likely Won't Be 'Asked Back' by Mavericks Ahead of NBA FA

Veteran power forward Christian Wood is set to hit free agency this summer, and a departure from the Dallas Mavericks is feeling more and more likely.

NBA reporter Marc Stein wrote Sunday that his "up-to-minute sense is that the free agent-to-be will not be asked back after a Wood contract extension was raised as a possibility before the [Kyrie] Irving trade."

Wood had an interesting first season with the Mavericks. The 27-year-old largely came off the bench for the team, starting just 17 games out of his 67 appearances. But the 6'10" big made the most of his time on the court, averaging 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in 25.9 minutes per contest while shooting 51.5 percent from the field and 37.6 percent from three.

The counting stats were good, but they didn't always translate to success on the court, with the Mavericks holding a minus-1.3 net rating when he played and a 1.5 net rating when he sat, per NBA.com.

He also seemed to embrace his role, even if it wasn't easy to adjust to coming off the bench after two seasons as a starter with the Houston Rockets.

"Initially, it was very difficult. I'm going to be honest," he told NBA.com's Mark Medina in January. "But I stayed levelheaded. I knew I was on a new team, a team that had just gotten to the Western Conference Finals. I just wanted to do anything that could impact winning, whether that's coming off the bench or starting.

"I came off the bench before in my career, so it wasn't anything new to me. It was about me embracing the role that the coaches put me in and how they see me fitting in with this team. I excelled in it. Then I started doing better and getting in rhythm and playing more games. Then I was starting with a couple of guys getting hurt, and I excelled in that starting role."

The question the Mavericks have to ask is whether they could use their salary-cap space this offseason to better surround Luka Dončić with complementary players. The main priority is to re-sign Kyrie Irving, but after that the Mavericks need to find a way to bolster a defense that kept them out of the playoffs this season.

It would appear that Woods isn't in those plans.