Christian Wood has been one of the more underrated NBA players in terms of on-court production for quite some time now. Leaving the Detroit Pistons for the Houston Rockets has allowed Wood to really showcase his talent, and since then he’s become one of the top big men in the league. This year he’s averaging 16.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game. Clearly, he’s a very viable starter.
Recently, however, he’s gotten into a spat with the Rockets. Wood recently served a one-game suspension. His name constantly floats in trade rumors, and perhaps this will only amplify that. Not only that, but young Rockets big man Alperen Sengun is also in line for more playing time.
Two Christian Wood Trade Ideas
The Mega Trade
The trade: The Brooklyn Nets receive Derrick White and Zach Collins from the San Antonio Spurs and Wood from the Rockets. San Antonio receives Kyrie Irving and DeAndre’ Bembry from the Nets and Trey Burke from the Dallas Mavericks. Houston receives Thaddeus Young and a first-round pick from the Spurs and Cam Thomas from Brooklyn. Dallas receives Bryn Forbes from San Antonio.
There’s a ton of moving pieces here.
First, Brooklyn lets go of superstar Irving. In return, they receive two very viable starters in White and Wood, whereas Collins boost frontcourt depth in the aging unit in Brooklyn.
The Spurs, of course, usher in a new era led by Irving. It’s important to note rules restricting Irving are different in Texas than in New York. They also get Bembry and Burke as salary fillers, but both of them can be decent bench players.
Houston gets Young’s expiring contract, which can be off the books or flipped for assets. Thomas is a promising young guard, whereas the Spurs’ first-round pick can be a solid one too.
Lastly, Dallas swoops in to make the money work and gets a much-needed shooter in Forbes.
Boston adds a third star
The trade: The Rockets send Wood to the Boston Celtics for Al-Farouq Aminu, Payton Pritchard, and a future first-round pick.
Boston has been open about wanting to add a “third-star” next to Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. The team has a solid core of talent around them, but perhaps not what they deem a third star. Wood can fill this void.
The Celtics have struggled up front for the last couple of seasons, and Wood is a major upgrade. He has his defensive shortcomings but isn’t bad by any means on that end of the court. Offensively, Wood is stellar and pairing him with Tatum and Brown, among others, makes Boston a nightmare to defend.
First off, Houston gets an expiring contract in Aminu here. They’re not overly interested in more frontcourt players as they have a plethora of young stars to develop. Aminu opens up the books for the offseason. Houston also has a boatload of young guards, but Pritchard is a great asset to have. He’s also young, is a tenacious defender, and quite a good shooter as well. He’s great to have off the bench, especially with John Wall not playing, but also a very tradeable asset. Lastly, a first-round pick is always an added bonus.
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