Christian Wood Has Big Chance to Elevate NBA Stock, Earn Contract Amid Lakers Rumors

Christian Wood may provide the Los Angeles Lakers with the depth at the center position they so coveted this offseason, but that does not mean everyone on the team or in the organization was excited about the prospects of him joining the roster.

Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times reported, "The decision to sign Wood late in free agency came after a lengthy recruitment, one to get Wood to accept the minimum contract the Lakers could offer and, more quietly, one to make sure everyone in the building was on board with the addition," suggesting that there were some who would not approve had he signed for anything more than the league minimum.

In this case, Wood's contract is estimated at $2,709,849, per Spotrac.

Despite the apparent hesitation, Wood now has the opportunity to elevate his stock within the NBA and earn a contract more reflective of his talent.

The Lakers are not getting a player who cannot ball out when the time calls for it.

Wood has a career average of 14.8 points, hits just over 50 percent of his shots, is a 37.9 percent career shooter from beyond the arc, and has the ability to grab 7.3 rebounds. He is a baller and proved as much in Houston, particularly in his career year of 2021-22.

He has always demonstrated the ability to get his points, shots, and rebounds, but did so while playing for underperforming or bad teams. The question now is whether he can immerse himself in a team with NBA title aspirations and do what is asked of him, even if it means sacrificing personal stats.

Wood will play behind Anthony Davis and, hopefully, spell the All-Star.

Davis has expressed his desire to play more power forward and less center this offseason, opening up an opportunity for Wood to see more action than expected while reminding the rest of the league of the player he was and still can be.

A lineup that features Davis at the power forward position and Wood at center would be an upgrade over the current depth chart, which has Jarred Vanderbilt at the PF spot. At least on paper.

There are concerns about his defensive skills after a shaky stop in Dallas a season ago but as Woike reported in September, what Wood has done in the past and the issues about his chemistry with teammates are not something the Lakers are concerned with.

"With Wood, there are questions about his ability to function in a team defense -- questions that didn't get answered in a positive way last season when he played for Dallas -- and about his willingness to accept his role, with people seeing a gap between what Wood's best use would be and what Wood would view as the best use of his talents," he wrote.

If he sets aside his own expectations, fits the chemistry, and can seize opportunities in the same way that Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura did for Los Angeles a year ago, there is reason to believe he can turn that one-year deal into a longer-term contract with the team or a competitor looking for one more piece to get them into title contention.

That will be entirely up to him and his willingness to accept that he is not the guy on a team that has plenty of those.