Mavs Starting Christian Wood Would Require 'Something Unforeseen'

It doesn't appear that Christian Wood will be starting alongside Luka Doncic for the Dallas Mavericks anytime soon.

The Dallas Mavericks took a risk when they used their first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft to trade for Christian Wood from the Houston Rockets. Albeit, it was a small risk, as Dallas still got its first-round talent in Jaden Hardy with the 37th pick, but it was still a risk nonetheless.

Jalen Brunson departed in free agency weeks later, and now, Wood is playing on an expiring contract as his extension eligibility date of Christmas Eve looms. 

The Mavs started the season showing a willingness to guarantee a starting role to a career backup center in JaVale McGee, who is now receiving DNP-CDs. Dallas then went from giving Dwight Powell DNP-CDs to inserting him in the starting lineup. The Mavs have yet to give Wood a look at the starting center position, and it doesn’t appear that’s going to change anytime soon.

Powell is a helpful contributor in certain contexts, given his mobility and hustle. His well-rounded fundamentals on both ends can help to stabilize a unit. However, the Mavs acquired two centers in the offseason after receiving an underwhelming Powell experience throughout a Western Conference Finals run. 

On a recent episode of "The Hoop Collective" podcast, ESPN's Tim MacMahon explained that it would take 'something unforeseen' for the Mavs coach Jason Kidd to shift to starting Wood.  

"Look, I've said it before, and I'll say it again, it's going to take something unforeseen for Jason Kidd to budge on putting Christian Wood in the starting lineup," McMahon said.

The odds of the Mavericks starting Christian Wood were discussed on "The Hoop Collective" podcast: "Look, I've said it before, and I'll say it again, it's going to take something unforeseen for Jason Kidd to budge on putting Christian Wood in the starting lineup."

(via @ESPNNBA) pic.twitter.com/MRD9GC5GIz

— Grant Afseth (@GrantAfseth) December 9, 2022

When using basic deductive reasoning as opposed to insider information, it would be difficult to envision much of a clean pathway for the Mavs to reach a contract agreement with Wood. He is likely worth more than the four-year, $77 million maximum extension he's eligible to receive — making it a disadvantage for Wood to sign a deal that he could out-earn in free agency. 

There was reporting about the Mavs guaranteeing McGee a starting role months before training camp began. Despite that, many assumed Wood would later take over the starting role after getting acclimated with the team and perhaps improving defensively. That doesn't appear to be in the cards. 

Overall, this begs the question: Why would Wood sign a contract extension with a team that is unwilling to at least try him with the starting lineup? One thing that adds more confusion when it comes to Wood’s sixth-man role is that Spencer Dinwiddie tends to look off Wood while he has mismatches with the bench unit.

There have been flashes of brilliance from the two-man tandem of Wood and Doncic. Wood presents a versatile threat for Doncic that can convert from 3-point range at a high clip, attack closeouts, post-up mismatches, and be an aggressive play-finisher with a vast catch radius in the paint. 

Now, for the Mavs' perspective, the risk of holding onto Wood without a contract extension in place is rather straightforward. There is the chance that he simply reaches free agency in the offseason and chooses to depart from Dallas to sign elsewhere, leaving them empty-handed after previously trading a first-round pick in the trade to acquire him in the first place. 

After losing Brunson in free agency for nothing, can the Mavs truly risk Wood departing for nothing a year later? They would have gone from Kristaps Porzingis and Brunson as supporting cast talents around Doncic to having no dynamic teammates surrounding the superstar. At that point, does Doncic begin to look around and think, "What are we doing here?" 

Despite receiving a capped role, Wood is averaging 16.7 points and 7.7 rebounds in 26.1 minutes per game. His offensive skill-set is rare in the NBA and can raise the ceiling of a team, making it difficult to envision there not being an attractive market for his services this summer in a landscape with significant opening up of cap space league-wide.

If the Mavs aren’t going give Wood a bigger role, and if an extension isn’t doable, then Dallas might have to see what the trade market looks like for him in the coming months. However, approaching it in such a way would have negative consequences for a potential trade return.

---

Want the latest in breaking news and insider information on the Dallas Mavericks? Click Here.

Follow DallasBasketball.com on Twitter and Facebook.