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

[RoyTarpleysGhost]

Tim Cato in The Aathletic

Wood’s situation is more complicated: He’s a dangerous scorer who often doesn’t cover enough space defensively to warrant the coaching staff’s trust. But the Mavericks remain in need of his minutes on this roster, even if Wood might not be thrilled with the limited bench role he’s been assigned and will almost certainly depart this summer."

[Moviemavguy]

Tim Cato in The Aathletic

Wood’s situation is more complicated: He’s a dangerous scorer who often doesn’t cover enough space defensively to warrant the coaching staff’s trust. But the Mavericks remain in need of his minutes on this roster, even if Wood might not be thrilled with the limited bench role he’s been assigned and will almost certainly depart this summer."

But he is still better than Dwight freakin' Powell.  I want to see legit stats that shows me that Powell does anything better in the NBA better than Wood.  Especially defense...

[LukaMVP]

he got one thing he does better than wood. he flatters the coach and FO better than anyone does.

[dirkfansince1998]

But he is still better than Dwight freakin' Powell.  I want to see legit stats that shows me that Powell does anything better in the NBA better than Wood.  Especially defense...

What are legit stats? Boxscore? Plus-minus? Tracking?
That´s the conversation when it comes to Wood and Powell. Wood has way better boxscore production. Powell leads the the entire team in on/off. Has better +/- numbers.

[LukaMVP]

it's hard to tell which is the worse one defensively between Christian Woo_ and _wight Powell, but the former is definitely more useful in offense than the other imho.

[mvossman]

But he is still better than Dwight freakin' Powell.  I want to see legit stats that shows me that Powell does anything better in the NBA better than Wood.  Especially defense...

                                  Powel       Wood
Defensive Rating          112.9        114.4
Defensive EPM              +.4          -1.3
DDPM                          +1.6         +.4
DLebron                      +65          +.41

These numbers are due to Powell being a better team defender.  He does not miss assignments and is generally where he is supposed to be.  They both struggle one on one vs quality bigs, but Wood compounds the problem with mistakes.

Wood is clearly the better offensive player and better player overall.  They problem is we now have two generational offensive players and are struggling massively on defense, so you are going to see defense as the priority, especially when both Luka and Kyrie are on the court.  Dan has mentioned that Kidd is hiding Wood against the best bigs, but I think he is also playing Wood when either Luka or Kyrie are off the court in order to maintain the offensive creation.  That might be why McGee is coming in before Wood, because both Luka and Kyrie are still out there and the focus is on defense (which is a joke with McGee but whatever).

In the playoffs, both Powell and Wood will struggle with bigs, but the difference is Wood can space the floor and punish the big offensively, possibly chasing him off the court.  Powell lets the big stay on the court comfortably defensively and the gets punished on the other end.  I expect them to gravitate towards starting Maxi with the two stars and playing Wood when one of them is off the court.

[SleepingHero]

Tim Cato in The Aathletic

Wood’s situation is more complicated: He’s a dangerous scorer who often doesn’t cover enough space defensively to warrant the coaching staff’s trust. But the Mavericks remain in need of his minutes on this roster, even if Wood might not be thrilled with the limited bench role he’s been assigned and will almost certainly depart this summer."

I mean the writing was on the wall when he came back from injury and lost his spot.

I wouldn't be shocked to hear of the arguments he must've had with Kidd. Wood does look pretty checked out right about now.

[IamDougieFresh]

This is a disgusting franchise lmfaooooo

[vfromlmf]

"Dallas tried trading Hardaway and Wood at the trade deadline, but the league had limited interest in both players"

We all know this.

Hardaway has a lot of money left on his deal, but regarding Wood,  I'm not sure I can think of another 18 point scorer on an expiring contract with no trade value

[IamDougieFresh]

Hear me out. Considering we don’t have any other good options anyways, we actually give Wood a chance in the role he wants. Go with Luka/Kyrie/Green/Maxi/Wood and I guarantee you will like what you see.

[mvossman]

Hear me out. Considering we don’t have any other good options anyways, we actually give Wood a chance in the role he wants. Go with Luka/Kyrie/Green/Maxi/Wood and I guarantee you will like what you see.

Hopefully we will see some of this when Maxi gets back.  Kidd liked to pair Wood with Maxi in before the injury.  In the playoffs Luka and Kyrie will probably play together in the upper 20s minutes wise.  That is the max minutes you want to play Maxi.  That leaves roughly 20 minutes for Wood when one is off the court.  You could make a strong argument for Wood to get 10-15 minutes with the starters regardless of whether he starts or finishes.

[dirkfansince1998]

  I'm not sure I can think of another 18 point scorer on an expiring contract with no trade value

At this point of his career. Maybe Vucevic. Similar case. Can do it all on offense but not good enough to be a legit 1st or 2nd option. Liability on defense.

[Jason Terry]

                                  Powel       Wood
Defensive Rating          112.9        114.4
Defensive EPM              +.4          -1.3
DDPM                          +1.6         +.4
DLebron                      +65          +.41

These numbers are due to Powell being a better team defender.  He does not miss assignments and is generally where he is supposed to be.  They both struggle one on one vs quality bigs, but Wood compounds the problem with mistakes.

Wood is clearly the better offensive player and better player overall.  They problem is we now have two generational offensive players and are struggling massively on defense, so you are going to see defense as the priority, especially when both Luka and Kyrie are on the court.  Dan has mentioned that Kidd is hiding Wood against the best bigs, but I think he is also playing Wood when either Luka or Kyrie are off the court in order to maintain the offensive creation.  That might be why McGee is coming in before Wood, because both Luka and Kyrie are still out there and the focus is on defense (which is a joke with McGee but whatever).

In the playoffs, both Powell and Wood will struggle with bigs, but the difference is Wood can space the floor and punish the big offensively, possibly chasing him off the court.  Powell lets the big stay on the court comfortably defensively and the gets punished on the other end.  I expect them to gravitate towards starting Maxi with the two stars and playing Wood when one of them is off the court.

Well said sir. Thanks for the info

I agree that Wood could have the better chance to play in the playoffs depending on how things shake out

[HoosierDaddyKid]

First have to see how Maxi responds after a torn hammy. He's already over 30. It's no guarantee he returns to his normal self at least initially. Can't expect him to come back like before his injury. He's going to have to play his way back in shape. That's why they should add another defensive big, but they are hard to find and get.

[SwisherPrice]

Yeah Wood is done. I'm just interested to see how much he will get on the open market or if the best offer he gets is a short-term prove it deal with some team. 

And the bigger problem for the Mavs is that the ongoing quest for a quality starting big men continues with no relief in sight. We could still be relying heavily on Kleber and a re-signed Powell 2-3 years from now

[ThisIStheYear]

What a waste. Kidd insulted Wood and put him in the doghouse before he even arrived with the team. Must be some kind of dynamic between Kidd and Nico. But, if Kidd fails to make this talented roster work, he should pack his bags too.

[SleepingHero]

Hear me out. Considering we don’t have any other good options anyways, we actually give Wood a chance in the role he wants. Go with Luka/Kyrie/Green/Maxi/Wood and I guarantee you will like what you see.

I think you're not crazy for trying to make an incredible 18ppg super efficient offensive player work. But Kidd never really valued that offense anyways and always wanted Wood to be more.

I'm sure they clashed a crap ton and Wood is thinking how tf is a guy like Powell playing over him. 

But currently this team needs a defensive minded center, not an offensive gunner. I'm not sure Wood will play that role so it's kind of a lost cause imo.

What I'm more pissed about that the Mavs couldn't even find a trade for the guy. Like they seriously couldn't have done Wood+Frank for Korkmaz+Thybulle+House? Would've solved SO many issues currently and cashes Wood in as an asset. Just another feather in the wasted-asset-management cap the Mavs seem hellbent on wearing.

[cow]

He's not likely to accept the role or the money that would come with it, but Wood would be another perfect test for my "Kanter as your 6th man" role that could eat against second units.  I'd be surprised if Wood was in the league in three years at this rate.

[IamDougieFresh]

When everything is on the line, Kidd and the front office will fold. They will unfairly call on Christian Wood in their moment of need because Dwight and JaShaqtin suck ass. Christian Wood will deliver.

[SleepingHero]

He's not likely to accept the role or the money that would come with it, but Wood would be another perfect test for my "Kanter as your 6th man" role that could eat against second units.  I'd be surprised if Wood was in the league in three years at this rate.

Assuming he does get a contract from someone else this summer, this will be his 8th team in 9 years. 

Ok ok ok that's a little click bait as it's ignoring him bouncing around trying to make it in the league before truly breaking out. However, after breaking out isn't it a bit puzzling how no team wanted to keep him despite his counting stats?

Like there is no denying Wood is an incredibly talented player. He had a 3 week stretch from December to his hand injury where I was slowly getting convinced he was a 2-way 20ppg center the Mavs lucked into but here we are. 

I find it so odd that after he broke out on the Pistons, they just said "No thank you, we don't care to pay you any sort of money." How often does that happen where a tanking team finds a relatively young 20ppg scorer that's "home-grown" and they just let him go for pennies on the dollar?

HOU also figured that Wood, despite his talent, wasn't good enough for a rebuilding team trying to get back to the promised land. 

Now here we are, the Mavs becoming another team saying to Wood, "hey pal we'd rather look elsewhere."

There has to be something going on behind the scenes. Some sort of poor work ethic behind the scenes to explain this story because it just doesn't make sense. He's a fantastic offensive player with the tools to be a menace defensively and it just never works out no matter the situation. 

I know we've run this conversation into the ground, but I can't get over it. The eye test says Wood can lead a team on offense for at least 6 mins a quarter every game even if he has poor defensive tendencies. A player like that can still survive somewhere in today's NBA yet no team wants him.