The Houston Rockets should find solace in Christian Wood.
When the 2020-21 NBA season is all said and done, there might not be a bigger loser on the season than the Houston Rockets. After all, the team didn’t get a great return on James Harden and are now facing an uphill rebuild – this time, without the great Daryl Morey leading the way.
That said, this season wasn’t entirely a total loss. If nothing else, the Rockets should absolutely find solace in the find and continued progression of Christian Wood.
After all, when the Rockets elected to sign him during the offseason, there was no guarantee that Wood was going to be the player that he has this season for the Rockets.
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Wood’s “breakout” season last year consisted of 16 games, spanning over two months. Heading into this past offseason, it was going to take a risk for any team to go all-in on Wood. The Rockets proved they were willing to do so and it has paid huge dividends this season.
Christian Wood has given the Houston Rockets a glimmer of hope
During his first season as a full-time starter, Wood has averaged 21 points and 10 rebounds on 52 percent shooting from the field and 38 percent shooting from the 3-point range. He’s proven time and time again this season that he can carry an offensive load and has, if nothing else, given Houston a solid foundational piece that they can start to build with.
And if the Rockets can land the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft (they’ll have the best odds,14 percent, to do so), then this team will really be cooking with fire.
The Rockets may have taken a loss in the Harden trade, and I’ll never understand their decision to acquire Victor Oladipo (an expiring contract, who was likely never going to re-sign in Houston) over Caris LeVert, who has been extremely impressive with the Indiana Pacers, but there is a clear route to redemption.
A top 3 pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, at the very least, and Wood is a good starting point for the Rockets. Even though they’ve been an afterthought for much of the year, there is a reason for optimism for the Rockets moving forward.
And a big part of that is Wood. The Rockets haven’t made all the right moves this season. In fact, you can make the case that they haven’t made many right moves this year. But signing Wood and taking a big swing last offseason was certainly with one of them. And it’s going to pay off by giving this team a jumpstart in their rebuild.