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

[mvossman]

I buy that comp. 

I think the difference is that Ellis was given every chance in the world to be a featured player on good teams, and just was what he was. 

Wood's fans, myself among them, feel as though he has never really been given a shot to grow into such a role. And for my money, he succeeded enough here in this opportunity to justify another lease on it. But, committing to that, from the Mavs' perspective, simply isn't a "win-now" proposition, and they really only have until this deadline to decide. So, it's "hey, if you're willing to try and be a bench scoring 3rd big, let's get it!" And no, he isn't. 

I'm not convinced committing to patiently build around Luka/Wood isn't a better path than what they chose, considering Luka is 23 and under contract. BUT, when you trade for a 31 year old superstar, you're announcing to the world that you're going for it NOW. That goal makes bringing along a young guy like Wood in a featured role kind of not a great idea.

If we are talking about win now, I would argue that bringing Wood off the bench (he would still be playing with Luka or Kyrie) would likely be more valuable than what it sounds like we might get in a trade for him.