It might surprise a few NBA fans to know that Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd never really wanted Chrisitan Wood on the team’s roster. As most of us should be aware, Kidd is the head coach for Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. He was given the position by the Mavs on June 28, 2021, and managed to help the team get to the Western Conference Finals during his first year with them.
In order to establish themselves as legitimate contenders, the Mavs decided to acquire Chrisitan Wood from the Houston Rockets. The size and defense he would provide for the team might have been enough to help them break though. However, the team never really saw much success with Wood on the squad.
Now that Christian Wood has recently been traded to the Lakers, reports have emerged revealing that Jason Kidd never wanted him in the first place. With that being said, let us take a closer look and find out more.
Jason Kidd never wanted Chrisitan Wood on the Dallas Mavericks
Veteran NBA fans will remember that Jason Kidd was quite an NBA star during his playing days. Although he retired from the league more than a decade ago, Kidd has stayed on and coached several teams such as the Brooklyn Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Los Angeles Lakers. Due to his effectiveness, he was offered a head coaching job with the Dallas Mavericks.

Coming back to Christian Wood, it is difficult to deny that he is quite a polarizing player. While he certainly has the size and potential to be an NBA star, Wood has often been called out for his lack of motor or even defensive enthusiasm at times.
ESPN’s Tim MacMohan was recently interviewed and shared that Kidd never really wanted the Dallas Mavericks to add Christian Wood to their roster, “Straight up, Jason Kidd did not want Christian Wood…That trade was made without J-Kidd signing off on it.”

This is truly an interesting phenomenon that fans should ponder about. After all, no one really discusses whether the coaches should be given a say regarding roster construction. That should undoubtedly be the case ideally since the responsibility that comes with failure falls on the head coach.
In any case, now that Chrisitan Wood is on the Los Angeles Lakers, his former team’s coach’s statements or feelings for him probably don’t matter much. We look forward to the matchups between the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks next season.
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