EAST LANSING – Christian Wood averaged 29.3 points and 14.1 rebounds for Milwaukee’s G League team, but when the Bucks desperately needed to pick up a guard late last season after a run of injuries depleted their backcourt Wood was waived to create a roster spot.
Picked up by New Orleans, Wood averaged 16.9 points and 7.9 rebounds in eight games to end the NBA’s regular season. But when the Pelicans faced a roster crunch after picking up a wave of players and draft picks from the Lakers in the Anthony Davis trade, Wood again was victimized.
Guys with non-guaranteed contracts are easy to sacrifice when a roster spot is needed, but you can forgive Wood if he began to wonder what a guy had to do to win a job.
“Man, yeah, I started thinking that a lot,” Wood said after the second day of Pistons training camp on Michigan State’s campus. “Especially when I was putting up 30 and 14 a game. It gets to me, but I stay focused. I knew my opportunity was going to come and I feel like I have a great opportunity here with (Dwane) Casey. He tells me that all the time.”
Wood spent two years at UNLV, declared for the 2015 draft but wasn’t picked. Teams saw the talent, but Wood was young and frail – he was 215 pounds at the time, now between 225 and 230, he says – and faced questions about his maturity. Despite the question marks, the obvious pluses have landed him on rosters in three of the last four seasons with four other NBA franchises: Philadelphia in 2015-16, Charlotte in 2016-17 and the Bucks and Pelicans last season.
Now, having turned 24 last week and with physical and emotional maturity gained, he’s ready to give it his best shot yet. His contract remains non-guaranteed and unless the Pistons create a roster spot, it could still come down to Wood or Hall of Famer-to-be Joe Johnson for the last spot, a battle that figures to tip in Johnson’s favor.
Wood is encouraged by his showing early in camp and in the pre-camp pickup games. He says he’s spent time at all three frontcourt positions, though his best shot at playing time is likely to come by proving his merit as a backup center. The Pistons have oodles of options at power forward behind Blake Griffin, led by veterans Markieff Morris and Johnson. At center, it’s Thon Maker or Wood with some Morris thrown in when Casey goes to small-ball sets.
“He tells me that I can be an opportunity scorer, that I’m a good defender,” Wood said of Casey’s message to him. “He’s going to give me an opportunity to play and do my role. He thinks I’ll be a good backup behind (Andre Drummond).”
Wood is even longer than Maker – Wood’s wingspan of 7-foot-3¼ is a quarter-inch greater than Maker’s and his standing reach of 9-foot-3½ is a full inch greater – and, given his scoring numbers at both the G League and NBA levels last season, he has more offensive punch. Maker quickly won over Casey upon his acquisition at the trade deadline last winter with his effort and selflessness, but Wood is holding his own early in camp.
“Both of ’em are playing very well right now,” Casey said. “Christian Wood is very talented with the ball, long. He’s at the rim and can go up and dunk it. Thon is a ball of energy. It’s neck and neck with those guys playing. Thon has gotten bigger, stronger. Both guys have been really impressive so far – and the whole month of September in pickup games.”
Both give the Pistons the type of lateral defensive mobility coveted in an NBA where defenses get stretched to the 3-point arc and beyond, creating wide gaps for dribble penetration. Wood also averaged 2.3 blocks per 36 minutes in the G League and 1.9 in the NBA last season, another trait Casey might decide makes Wood worth keeping around.
Casey’s unique ability to instill confidence in young players – see his success in Toronto with a long list of players, many of whom contributed to the 2019 NBA championship – has already rubbed off on Wood, as well.
“Out of all the teams I’ve been on, I’d say I’m probably the most comfortable here,” he said. “Casey gives me a green light. He’s telling me to shoot the ball. He gives me opportunities to score, telling me don’t hesitate. That goes a long way with me. I need confidence.”