THE CRUCIFIX: Cato: Wood isn't thrilled w/ his role...Will depart in the summer

[F Gump]

Who wasn’t hoping for an extension knowing the max he could be paid is $17M (there were a few initially, but I think most have come around)? He also said he wanted to be paid like a starter (not unlike a certain THJ in his recent FA). That right there says the extension had very little legs to begin with.

Perhaps that's true. And my point was not a criticism of Wood for thinking that way if he wants to, but rather just an observation that (if Wood indeed never would have considered an extension) there's been nothing the Mavs could have done to get an extension.

And then, my comment on where I think the Mavs should go from here, if that's the reality.

In that event, I want to see Wood traded. I've always seen him as making sense for the extension limit or less, and not worth risking for the privilege of paying him a much bigger number. In the summer, I don't like the odds of trying to sign him, and I wouldn't like the contract if somehow they got it done. So I'd be looking for the best deal possible by the TDL.

It's worth noting that, with the added info, it's possible that the Mavs, not Wood, are the ones who have steered away from a deal allowed within extension limits, and that they don't yet trust what he offers. So this might not be put to bed yet.