Start or Bench? Christian Wood's Role with Dallas Mavs

NBA analysts believe Christian Wood's best fit would be off the bench.

This offseason, the Dallas Mavericks had two priorities: re-sign Jalen Brunson and acquire help down low. The team completed the latter by acquiring Christian Wood for a first-round pick and four low-minute players.

Last season, Luka Doncic led the team in points, averaging 28.4 per game. Ranked behind him was Brunson with an average of 16.3 points. As a team, the Mavs ranked 8th in points per game, averaging 106.3 points. So ... losing Brunson hurts, but adding Wood should help soften the blow when specifically looking at points production alone.

Wood averaged 17.9 points per game for the Houston Rockets last season – 19.6 in the final month of the season. 

While Wood is expected to fill some of the scoring void with Brunson gone, as well as add much-needed rebounding, the team acquired more rebounding support with the signing of JaVale McGee. Last season, McGee played a key role coming off the bench for the Phoenix Suns, as he tallied 6.7 rebounds in 15.8 minutes.

After signing with Dallas, McGee made it known that part of his decision was the idea that he'd be the Mavs' starting center this season.

If that's the case, what does that mean for Wood? There seems to be only two options: Start Wood at power forward or bring him off the bench in a sixth-man role. ESPN’s Tim MacMahon believes the latter could be in play.

“There's certainly a lot of people around the league that see Christian Wood's role on a playoff team as a bench scorer,” said Macmahon.

The belief is that with Spencer Dinwiddie joining Luka Doncic in the starting lineup, Wood would be able to replace his minutes off the bench. The last time Wood came off the bench was during the 2019-2020 season. That year he averaged 13.1 points and 6.1 rebounds in under 21 minutes per game for the Detroit Pistons. 

After being a full-time starter in Houston over the last two seasons, though, one has to wonder if Wood would be accepting of a bench role in Dallas. If he is, then the Mavs will be in great shape going forward. However, if feathers get ruffled, this could potentially be Wood's only season in Dallas, as he'll be an unrestricted free agent next summer.