Woike: Lakers have internal optimism they could make Christian Wood fit
The NBA has entered the slow part of its offseason, where training camp is still many weeks away, but player movement all but stopped a while ago.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ roster for the 2023-24 season is mostly set, except for the center position. General manager Rob Pelinka made it clear earlier this summer that he would like to add another center, but nothing has happened, at least not yet.
The team has reportedly had some interest in Christian Wood for a while. While he is undersized at 6-foot-9, doesn’t play much defense and reportedly has a substandard attitude, he is a very capable scorer who can stretch the floor. He averaged 16.6 points a game on 51.5 percent overall shooting and 37.6 percent from 3-point range this past season for the Dallas Mavericks.
According to Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times, Wood is likely still the Lakers’ top choice, and they have some “internal optimism” that they could make things work with the 27-year-old.
Via Los Angeles Times:
“The big question would be whether the Lakers’ structure — headlined by coach Darvin Ham and James — could keep Wood focused on winning while eliminating some of his bad habits and overcoming some deficiencies.
While he’s already played for seven teams, there’s at least some internal optimism that the Lakers could make it work as stop No. 8.”
Another upside of signing Wood would be the fact that he could fill in ably offensively if and when Anthony Davis misses games due to injury. Last season, LeBron James had to play very heavy minutes and carry an immense workload while Davis missed several weeks with a right foot stress injury.
