The Los Angeles Lakers are starting to finalize their roster for the 2023-24 season. The Davin Ham-led team signed center Christian Wood for two seasons (the second season is a player option) for $5.7 million, which is when you factor in his offensive production in recent seasons. A pretty affordable figure.
Even though Wood plays the 5 — where defense is important — his most intriguing aspect as a player, and has been so throughout his career, is his offense. In fact, his poor rim protection keeps him from being one of the best centers in the NBA.
This defensive stigma makes Wood one of the last free agents to sign in 2023-24, but if we dig into his numbers, we can realize he could help — and a lot — the Los Angeles Lakers.
Last season, Wood averaged 16.6 points per game, so if we put those records on the Lakers roster, he would be the team’s fourth-highest scorer behind LeBron James (27.4 points), Anthony Day Weiss (25.9) and D’Angelo Russell (17.4). In addition, he averaged 7.3 rebounds per game, so he is lower than Davis (12.5) and James (8.3) in this regard.
Wood coming to the Lakers at power forward or center, alternating that position with Anthony Davis, while having LeBron at the three would have done less wear and tear on his body if he was in the starting five. If he was a backup, his role would be more offensive.
The 27-year-old center would also be a valuable offensive piece if he’s on the floor against James and Davis, as the two Lakers stars can allow Wood to punish in the three if they attack the rim. Last year in Dallas, he hit 38 percent of his triples.
Joining the Lakers is a remarkable opportunity for Wood, as he will be playing for the team in the city of his birth. As we all know, since the last game, he has been looking for a deal that can take him to play in Los Angeles, and now he has it.