Lakers Rumors: Christian Wood Could Be Pursued by Bulls, Heat amid Contract Buzz

As arguably the best remaining player left on the NBA free-agent market, Christian Wood appears to have a number of suitors interested in signing him.

The Athletic's Jovan Buha reported last week that the Los Angeles Lakers were looking at Wood and Bismack Biyombo to give them another option at center.

Per Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Bulls have emerged as a potential threat to the Lakers for Wood, and the Miami Heat could enter the race as well, "particularly if they're able to pull off a Damian Lillard trade."

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka told reporters on July 9 that the team was "actively in the market to add another big." The Lakers signed Jaxson Hayes early in free agency.

Anthony Davis is penciled in as the starting center in Los Angeles, though Jarred Vanderbilt can also fill that role given Davis' general aversion to playing the five.

Given the injury issues Davis has had over the past three seasons, it might be more imperative for head coach Darvin Ham not to use him at center in an attempt to protect his body.

The Lakers are always looking for more shooting help around Davis, LeBron James and Austin Reaves. The Heat, especially if they have to trade Tyler Herro in a potential deal for Lillard, will need a scorer who can sit at the three-point line.

The Bulls finished in the bottom 10 of the NBA in points per game (113.1) and offensive rating last season (113.5). They brought Nikola Vučević back on a three-year, $60 million contract, but their depth behind him includes Andre Drummond and Terry Taylor.

Wood has his flaws, but he would be helpful for any of the three teams reportedly interested in him. The 27-year-old has averaged 16.8 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while shooting 38.2 percent from three-point range in 238 appearances over the past four seasons.

As long as a team doesn't need Wood to provide much defense help, he can be a solid contributor either as a starter or off the bench because of his size and shooting ability.