Christian Wood not expected to start for Lakers despite Anthony Davis's desired position change
Anthony Davis's preference towards playing the power forward position as opposed to the center position has been well-documented over the years. This offseason has apparently done little to sway the Los Angeles Lakers star's mindset in the opposite direction. If anything, his lack of desire to log minutes at the five-spot has only strengthened.
According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin, Davis "made it clear to the organization" this summer that he'd like further support at center to allow him to play more power forward.
On Wednesday, the Lakers organization answered the bell — sort of. Los Angeles inked former Dallas Mavericks center Christian Wood to a two-year deal. Yet, despite Wood proving to be a capable starter during stints of his career, Jovan Buha of The Athletic has reported that the "early expectation" is Wood will come off the bench for his new team.
The Lakers relegating Wood to the second unit likely means that Rui Hachimura, not Davis, will serve as the starting power forward to begin the season. In this scenario, Davis — who played 99% of his minutes last season at the five, per Cleaning the Glass — will again be locked in as the team's starting center.
With lineups getting smaller across the league, the Lakers — or any other team, for that matter — would be hard-pressed not to play 6-foot-10-inch, 253-pound Davis at center. Nevertheless, Los Angeles' additions of Wood and Jaxson Hayes this offseason, paired with the presence of Hachimura and Jarred Vanderbilt, should give enough frontcourt flexibility to reduce Davis's minutes at the five.
After inking a $186 million extension this summer, Davis' longevity should be at the forefront of Los Angeles' mind. No stranger to the injury bug throughout his career, Davis has played in 194 of 307 possible regular-season games since joining the Lakers in 2019-20.
In terms of the career outlook for the 30-year-old Davis, the less wear-and-tear absorbed at the center position the better. Unfortunately for Davis' sake, his inability to stretch the floor as a 22.2% 3-point shooter over the last two years points towards him profiling better as a center for a win-now Lakers squad.
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