Mavs Done With Christian Wood; On 'Heat's Radar' as Free Agent Signing?
Outside of re-signing Kyrie Irving this offseason, the Dallas Mavericks have made it clear of their plans to upgrade their big man rotation in hopes to improve their rebounding and rim protection. And of course, Christian Wood has used social media to seemingly bid Big D farewell while arguing with his critics that someday "I'll tell the real story.''
Now comes Yahoo! Sports' Jake Fischer reporting that the Mavericks free agent forward could be garnering some interest from the Eastern Conference champion Miami Heat.
"Christian Wood continues to be mentioned by league personnel as someone on the Heat’s radar," Fischer wrote.
In his first and likely only season in Dallas, Wood averaged 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game while shooting 37.4 percent from downtown in 67 games.
From the jump, Wood seemed to be on the outs with Mavs coach Jason Kidd as the two didn't necessarily see eye-to-eye on what Wood's role should be on the team. Throughout the season, Wood's minutes fluctuated with little consistency while starting 17 of 67 games played.
Kidd continued to cite Wood's struggles on the defensive end being the reasoning behind his minimized role at times. Critics, though, noted that Dallas' other options in the front court - guys like Dwight Powell and JaVale McGee - are stoppers on defense.
In a June 16 report from NBA insider Marc Stein, the Mavericks had 'moved on' from any future plans regarding Wood returning to Dallas, with hopes to 'remake their center rotation.
And while Wood's mindset, or lack thereof, on the defensive end doesn't fit with the 'Heat culture' in South Beach, the fact that Wood was undrafted and has been "written off" as a winning player, certainly molds well with Miami's current group of misfits that shocked the world with a run to the NBA Finals this year.
If anyone could unlock something within Wood, it may just be the combination of Pat Riley, Erik Spoelstra, and Jimmy Butler. ... as the Mavs look to unlock a new big man rotation that ideally will include rookie first-round pick Dereck Lively II.
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