The Los Angeles Lakers signing Christian Wood may have seemed like an unnecessary acquisition at first. However, there are various ways the center can help the purple and gold next season. Wood was in search of a long-term deal this off-season, something he has never been able to acquire for a while. Unfortunately, it left him to be one of the last players in the market. The Lakers had eyes on him for a while but they may have had to put a lot of thought into this one.
Christian Wood was initially interested in an opening that was expected to surface if Damian Lillard had been traded to the Miami Heat. However, with training camp just around the corner and little to no progress being made in the trade, the Lakers were his only option. Both parties agreed to a veteran minimum contract worth $5.7 million over two years.
“Him [Darvin Ham] trusting and believing in my abilities is great. Most underrated [part of my game]? I would say my ability to pass out the pick and roll. Me and him [Anthony Davis] together will be a crazy pairing. He’s been my favorite player to watch.”
– C. Wood #LakeShow pic.twitter.com/WD6DLPctiP
— 🎗NBA•Fan🎗 (@Klutch_23) September 22, 2023
The 27-year-old is a great offensive backup for Anthony Davis. He will also provide a lot of depth amongst the big men of the team possibly playing crucial minutes in Davis‘ absence as well. “Me and him [Anthony Davis] together will be a crazy pairing. He’s been my favorite player to watch,” Wood said while being interviewed by Spectrum Sportsnet. He seems fairly confident that things will work out. And it’s the same with the Lakers, which has a new look to its roster.
Christian Wood reflects on his relationship with Lakers’ head coach Darvin Ham
Things don’t seem like they will be as bad as some of us think they’ll pan out. Christian Wood is quite familiar with LA as he is from around the area. The athlete was born and brought up in California. And the Lakers are also still under Darvin Ham, who was hired as a replacement for Frank Vogel following the conclusion of the 2021-22 season. Ham previously worked with the Milwaukee Bucks, between 2018 and 2022.
Ham and Wood are quite familiar with each other. The center had a very brief stint with the Bucks in 2018 while Ham was an assistant coach on the team. Wood said, “He called me every day in free agency. Believe it or not, you know, we have a good relationship and I think that’s a very big thing… Just having that communication with the coach.”
He added, “He’s a players coach as well. Just having that on my side is great. And him believing in me and trusting what I could do with my abilities is great.”
Christian Wood seems to be in his element at the moment, which is a great start to his career in LA. He also claimed that he has improved ever since his time in Dallas, especially when it comes to working within the post in pick-and-roll situations. The Lakers are going to come out with blazing guns next season. However, the Western Conference looks tougher than ever.