Christian Wood is 'counting his blessings' after trade to Mavericks

Christian Wood told WFAA TV that he’s “counting my blessings” about the trade that sent him from the Rockets to the Mavericks in June. Wood, who spoke during a break at a youth basketball camp, said he’s focused on helping Dallas get even farther than last season’s trip to the Western Conference Finals.

“It’s a great opportunity for me and for this organization to try and take that next step,” he said. “I just want to win games. My main objective is to try and get to the (NBA) Finals.”

Wood, who’s entering the final year of his contract, will add plenty of scoring and rebounding to the Mavs’ front line. He averaged 17.9 points and 10.1 rebounds per game last season, but he wasn’t in the Rockets’ long-term plans so they shipped him to the Mavericks in exchange for four players and a first-round pick.

Wood said he’s happy to be in Dallas — both on and off the court.

“I love the city — it’s a little bit calmer than Houston, thank God,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve tried a few food spots out here, and the food is great. But I’m still trying to find my way around.”

There’s more NBA news from Texas:

• The Mavericks are hiring Nets scouting director Matt Riccardi to a senior front office position, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Riccardi, who grew up in the Dallas area, has been with Brooklyn for the past 13 years.
• Several teams are monitoring Rockets forward K.J. Martin, who requested a trade in June, according to Michael Scotto of Hoops Hype. After re-signing Jae’Sean Tate and drafting Jabari Smith and Tari Eason in the first round, it doesn’t appear there’s a future for Martin in Houston.
• Tre Jones‘ contract for the upcoming season became guaranteed for $500K when he remained on the Spurs‘ roster past Aug. 1, tweets Spotrac contributor Keith Smith. Jones, who would make $1.78M if he gets a full guarantee, could challenge for the starting point guard spot now that Dejounte Murray has been traded to Atlanta. Jones made 11 starts last season while averaging 6.0 points and 3.4 assists in 69 games.