Heading into the 2023-24 season with high expectations, the Dallas Mavericks sport a revamped frontline, including rookie Dereck Lively II, who was selected at No. 12 in this year's NBA Draft, along and veteran center Richaun Holmes, who was brought in via trade with the Sacramento Kings.
In the process, the Mavs opted to not re-sign Christian Wood, who averaged 16.6 points and 7.3 rebounds in 67 games last season. On Sep. 5, Wood signed a two-year veteran's minimum deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Lakers coach Darvin Ham spoke with Andscape about the addition of Wood and how his prickly past with several former teams doesn't concern him.
“I don’t know what happened in Dallas, and that’s not my business,” Ham said. “I don’t know. People say [explicative]. ‘He’s lazy. He doesn’t play any defense.’ I know the kid. I know what he’s going to do for me, and he’s done everything that I expected him to do up to this point since camp has been going on.”
From the moment that the Mavericks acquired Wood in a trade with the Houston Rockets last year, it seems as if he was fighting his way out of the dog house with Dallas head coach Jason Kidd. Simply put, Wood didn't fit into Kidd's plans due to his struggles on the defensive end of the floor, and it showed with Wood's uphill battle to secure a consistent role in Dallas.
“I don’t judge my relationship based off other people’s opinion of certain individuals,” Ham said. “I deal with you directly, and I have my own relationship with him, and I know what he’s capable of and what he’ll do for me.”
Once the offseason hit, it was evident that the Mavs would be moving on from Wood and not exploring an extension, which gave the journeyman to land in his hometown of Los Angeles for yet another opportunity to find a long-term NBA home.
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