Dallas Mavericks: The Christian Wood Trade Effect

The NBA 2021-2022 season is near the end and the Dallas Mavericks have not wasted any time making moves. On Wednesday night, the Mavericks traded their 26th draft pick along with Boban Marjanovic, Sterling Brown, Marquese Chriss and Trey Burke for Houston Rockets Center, Christian Wood.

During the offseason the team make it clear that acquiring a big man would be one of their main focuses. Now Dallas can finally check off that item from their list.

With Christian Wood a part of the Dallas Mavericks, they can finally resolve some of their major rebounding issues last season.

However their might be more to this trade than fans think…

1.  Wood can provide a key stretch from all over the field

Over the past two seasons, Christian Wood has become a top ten center in the league. His ability to rebound down low and shoot the ball, are just some of what makes his basketball game great. Last season he averaged a double double with 10 rebounds per game and 17 points. A majority of his grabs came on the defensive end. He averaged a career high snatching around 8.5 rebounds on the defensive end.

His best game came on November 29th against the Oklahoma City Thunder where he had 21 rebounds, three blocks, 24 points and three shots from beyond the arc.

One thing that differentiates Wood from other centers is his ability to knock down shots. Last season he made 39 percent of his three point attempts. On average he made about two of every five threes. During the last month of the season he averaged 46.8 percent from behind the three point line. Not to mention he shot 40 percent on catch and shoot threes.

Currently it is difficult to find a big man that can shoot the ball at a high percentage. With Woods alongside Luka Doncic, there is no doubt the Mavs new center will have plenty of opportunities to shot the ball, catch a lob or even post down low.

2. What about the other centers in the league?

While Wood is still climbing up the charts, he definitely belongs in the conversation of the NBA’s top ten centers. Over the past two seasons he averaged 19 points and nine rebounds, while shooting over 50 percent. The only other bigs to have done this include Joel Embiid, Nikola, Jokic, Karl Anthony Towns and Domantas Sabonas.  The one thing all those centers have in common is they were named NBA all-stars this past season.

In contrast to other players in the league, Wood finished 14th in rebounding overall. He also works well in small ball lineups, something Dallas enjoys implementing at times.

He did great outrebounding and blocking shots, compared to centers and forwards on the Dallas Mavericks roster last season. The last time the Mavs had a center average more than 10 rebounds, dates back to Deandre Jordan during the 2018 season. Since then, the team has yet to find their missing piece at the give.

3. Don’t forget the Dallas Mavericks roster moves

While trading for Woods is great, fans can’t forget what it means for the upcoming offseason. With the deal, Dallas was able to trade away four players who found little to no playing time in the playoffs. What this means is the team now has three empty roster spots they can fill.

There are still plenty of holes Dallas must fill while resigning Jalen Brunson, getting another wing and figuring out Tim Hardaway’s contract.

While fans will surely miss Boban, Nico Harrison can use the extra salary to pay Brunson and recruit other free agents to Dallas.

Not having to trade away key members from the 2022 playoffs is a plus.

Now if only the Dallas Mavericks can continue gearing towards the right direction.

With the offseason just beginning, Mavs’ fans have a lot to look forward too. The team finally got their big man and have three roster spots open. This is just the beginning of something new.