[OhCanada-Participant]

Every year us enthusiastic basketball fans watch the summer league to see how the next generation of ballers, our personal favourite college players/fringe NBA players, and young guns adapt to NBA basketball and develop over time. One common theme lately summer league is the ongoing question…how is Christian Wood not on a longterm NBA contract?

I’ll take it a step further. How is this guy not the focal point of an organizations development team? This isnt a rhetorical question either I’m seriously curious as to what is wrong with him or what he did wrong. He also went undrafted. Did he just bomb all his interviews and say some completely ignorant shit during the predraft process? I mean we watch these athletes play but then every once in a while you meet them in person and you realize if they had another brain it would be lonely. Could that be the problem with Wood?

Or…Did 30 NBA teams just completely miss out on this guy time after time. 

I personally think Wood has everything you need from a modern PF/C. He’s athletic, can switch onto multiple positions, protects the rim, he can shot/space the floor, he’s a good rim runner. He’s 22 years old!

This may sound crazy to most people but I feel like his skills are just as valuable as this years excellent crop of big men. You’ve got teams like Sacramento drafting Harry Giles in the 1st round after a terrible freshmen year then sitting him out a year to strengthen his legs and train/develop skill spending all this money and these resources in hopes he will reach his potential when Christian Wood has all the skills they are hoping Giles can develop and yet he remains unsigned.

So whats the big deal here? Am I crazy, is Wood crazy, or are 30 NBA teams crazy? 

 

 

 

 

 

[ChewyParticipant]

 reports/rumors that during the interview process he was telling teams he was the next Durant. That he wanted to play the 3 and shoot the 3. Teams felt he had an unrealistic view of what his role would be in the NBA (especially as a rookie) and just choose to skip that headache of being the team that has to give him the reality check.

IDK if this is true but those rumors were all over the place during the draft process.

 

[220Participant]

 I’m not sure what happens with Christian Wood, but he has yet to play as well in the regular season as he has in summer league. He looked good in last year’s summer league as well. It’s crazy that he’s 22, but then I remember he was an undrafted one and done. Hopefully he gains some traction and makes a team better this year.

[The GoatParticipant]

The guy can play. He keeps popping up in summer but no one seems to have an interest in playing him. He’s big, mobile and can hit a 3. I remember he was on the fringe with Philly, then Charlotte and they both couldve used him at the time, so there must be something seriously wrong with him attitude wise. He should have regular rotation minutes somewhere and teh chance to be a really good player. Surely he can get minutes at the 5 spot. Zaza has been effective enough to have an NBA career. This guy is more mobile, younger and has a jumper, I dont get it either.

[Evan_MilbergParticipant]

If I remember correctly, he made a pretty big leap from his freshman year to sophomore year at UNLV, and declared at the height of what he perceived his draft stock to be in 2015 (I remember at one point he was projected in the late first round of that draft). 

The issues with Wood back then were mostly that, for a sophomore, despite his big leap in production, he was still seen as raw by NBA standards. He displayed questionable shot selection in college, and turned the ball over way too much for a big man. There were also concerns that he didn’t have the lateral quicknss to guard both foward positions. So I guess teams figured why reach in the draft for someone who is still 2-3 years away when you can just sign him as an undrafted free agent and see how he develops? 

Clearly his time in the G League has made a difference, and a lot of those weaknesses (particularly on defense) in his game have been addressed. I think at the very least, he’s a lock to make a 15-man roster. 

 

 

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