Knicks Rumors: Christian Wood Expected to Interest NY in 2020 Free Agency
The New York Knicks are reportedly expected to have interest in power forward Christian Wood when free agency begins later this month.
According to SNY's Ian Begley, it was reported in March that some within the Knicks organization were "enamored" with Wood, and now teams that plan to pursue Wood believe he is on the Knicks' radar.
The 25-year-old Wood bounced around between four different teams over his first three NBA seasons before landing with the Detroit Pistons in 2019-20 and putting up career-best numbers.
Wood went undrafted out of UNLV in 2015 and had short stints with the Philadelphia 76ers, Charlotte Hornets, Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans before winding up in Detroit.
Last season, Wood appeared in a career-high 62 games and set personal bests across the board with 13.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per contest, while also shooting 56.7 percent from the field and 38.6 percent from beyond the arc.
While Wood was good throughout the season, his play reached dominant levels after the Pistons traded center Andre Drummond to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Feb. 6.
In 13 games after that trade, Wood averaged 22.8 points, 9.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.0 block. If not for the COVID-19 pandemic cutting Detroit's season short, Wood's end-of-season numbers likely would have looked even more impressive.
According to Begley, Wood finished 13th in the NBA in PER (Player Efficiency Rating) last season, which measures how productive a player is in comparison to their minutes.
That suggests that if Wood is given more playing time in 2020-21 and beyond, he has a chance to become a star-caliber player.
It is easy to overlook a player like Wood in free agency since bigger names like Anthony Davis, Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka are set to hit the market, but Wood's age and ceiling could make him one of the biggest value signings.
The bulk of New York's talent resides in its frontcourt with Mitchell Robinson and Julius Randle on the roster, but signing Wood would give the Knicks another skilled big or could even tempt them to trade Randle for needs at other spots.
New York is coming off a 21-45 record and hasn't reached the playoffs since 2013, so an infusion of talent is undoubtedly needed regardless of position.
