TDL Archived: The 2nd Rnd Pick Yankee Swap

[F Gump]

That's fair.

I will say I'm a bit more hesitant to move on from Wood after his newfound defense. .

I am not convinced that Wood's "newfound defense" is as great as all that. He is certainly being acclaimed for it to some degree. The vast majority of the attention comes from the shots blocked, which indeed is a defensive stat. But "number of blocked shots" is not a reliable read on defensive prowess.

It's hard to get a good read on individual defense, unfortunately. There are no truly good stats for it. Much of it is "eye test" stuff.

The blocks do show added effort and attention, and that's definitely a plus. That's a starting point. But I don't see him as a plus defender at all.

Or, to the conversational point, I still see a sizable unfilled hole on this roster for a defensive-oriented big man, that I don't think Wood is anywhere close to filling.