NBA insider says Mavericks HC Jason Kidd never wanted this player on the team

Some interesting rumors are beginning to trickle out now that Christian Wood is officially no longer on the Dallas Mavericks.

In a podcast appearance this week on “The Hoop Collective,” ESPN’s Tim MacMahon made a big claim about Wood and Mavs head coach Jason Kidd.

“Straight up, Jason Kidd did not want Christian Wood,” said MacMahon, per ClutchPoints. “That trade was made without J-Kidd signing off on it.”

The 27-year-old big man was acquired by the Mavs in a trade with the Houston Rockets last summer. But he never really seemed to find his footing during his lone season in Dallas. Though Wood averaged 16.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, he saw significantly reduced minutes compared to his Houston tenure and was mostly relegated to coming off the bench. At one point, Wood even openly complained about his role on the Mavs.

It makes sense that Kidd may not have wanted Wood in the first place, since Kidd has historically done better with lower-usage role-playing bigs (e.g. Kevin Garnett and Mason Plumlee in Brooklyn, Zaza Pachulia and John Henson in Milwaukee and Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee on the L.A. Lakers). It would also explain why Wood seemed to diss Kidd and the Mavs upon signing with the Lakers this week.