Now that Christian Wood has officially signed a new NBA contract, he is feeling more confident.
Over two months into NBA free agency, the seasoned big man Wood and the Los Angeles Lakers signed to a multi-year contract this week. As of right present, the Lakers are Wood’s sixth team in his eight-year professional career.
Wood released a statement to Andscape’s Marc J. Spears on Wednesday about his new team and also criticized his old team, the Dallas Mavericks, late in the game.
“I’ve always wanted to be the Laker,” Wood said. “I know we can win the championship. Communication with the coach is an important key. Lakers coach [Darvin] Ham and I go back to our Milwaukee [Bucks] days, and we have interesting conversations every day about this opportunity. He trusted me and told me I would play a great role and he knew what I could do.
Wood concluded: “I’m looking forward to it and [of course] I’m motivated by what Dallas has done.
Wood did not specify exactly what Dallas would do with him. But we do know there are rumors that the Mavericks could trade Wood before the February deadline after Wood publicly expressed frustration with his game time. His “communication with the coach” quote could also be interpreted as a blow to Dallas head coach Jason Kidd.
The Lakers may need to be patient with Wood, an excellent scorer and assist, but can really struggle with defense, ball sharing, and overall basketball IQ. But Wood seems confident that Ham, his assistant coach at Milwaukee during the 2018-19 season, will be the last to unlock him.
