Heat Rumors: Christian Wood on Miami's Radar Ahead of Potential Mavs Exit in FA

The Miami Heat are reportedly showing interest in forward Christian Wood ahead of the start of the free-agent negotiating period Friday.

According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, Wood "continues to be mentioned by league personnel as someone on the Heat's radar."

The Dallas Mavericks acquired Wood in a trade with the Houston Rockets last summer, but unless the Mavs are able to come to terms on a new contract with him in the coming days, Wood will hit unrestricted free agency.

Wood has been a nomadic player during his seven-year NBA career, playing for seven different teams and never spending more than two seasons with a single organization.

After playing sparingly in his first three seasons, Wood finally got his big break in 2019-20 with the Detroit Pistons, averaging 13.1 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, which were career highs to that point.

Wood then reached new heights with the Rockets over the next two seasons, averaging a career-high 21.0 points, plus 9.6 rebounds per game in 2020-21. He averaged 17.9 points and a career-high 10.1 rebounds per game the following season as well.

The Mavericks acquired Wood in hopes of making him the ideal complement to superstar guard Luka Dončić, and while the 27-year-old big man was sold, he was far from being a second star.

Wood primarily came off the bench, starting 17 of the 67 games he appeared in, and averaging 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.6 three-pointers made and 1.1 blocks, while shooting 51.5 percent from the field.

The Mavs tried to bring in another star at the trade deadline by acquiring Kyrie Irving from the Brooklyn Nets, but the trio of Dončić, Wood and Irving was not enough to prevent Dallas from missing the playoffs.

If the Mavs decide to go in a different direction after last season's disappointing result, the 6'10" Wood should garner plenty of interest on the open market.

He is a solid scorer and rebounder, a capable rim protector and has the type of shooting range that most players his size lack.

Miami could be a great fit since the Heat are looking to increase their offensive firepower after finishing last in the NBA in scoring last season.

Despite their offensive shortcomings, the Heat reached the NBA Finals with Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo leading the way, along with significant contributions from Gabe Vincent, Caleb Martin, Duncan Robinson and others.

The addition of Wood would give Miami one of the NBA's best frontcourts between him and Adebayo, and it would also make the Heat far more difficult to defend thanks to Wood's offensive versatility.