Dallas Mavericks are big winners after acquiring Christian Wood
The Dallas Mavericks are big winners after acquiring Christian Wood. They will now have the flexibility to operate during the offseason.
It was clear that the Dallas Mavericks, even with the excellent play of Luka Doncic, were in over their heads in the Western Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors. However, my fear was that the front office would view the season as a win overall and not make any tangible improvements during the offseason.
It’s clear that is no longer the case.
In fact, you can argue the opposite. The Mavs’ brass got the vision of the promised land and decided it want to push forward. Late Wednesday night it was reported that the Mavs acquired Christian Wood from the Houston Rockets in exchange for Boban Marjanovic, Marquese Chriss, Trey Burke, Sterling Brown, and the 26th overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.
It’s a huge win for a team that needed to make some improvements this offseason, even though they didn’t have much to work with. Landing Wood, however, now gives the Mavs even more freedom heading into free agency.
Even though Wood wouldn’t qualify as a “big fish,” he does qualify as a significant addition. Wood is coming off a season in which he averaged 18 points and 10 rebounds on 50 percent shooting from the field and 39 percent shooting from 3-point range.
He’s a player that will help the Mavs solve their inefficiencies in the frontcourt and will be an excellent fit next to Luka. He’s a prototypical big in the modern game, especially on the offensive end, and will give the Mavs a threat they simply didn’t have this past season – especially after trading Kristaps Porzingis.
Heading into free agency, the Mavs could focus on the decision they have to make regarding Jalen Brunson. But the addition of Wood could give Dallas the flexibility for a bit of an overpay. If management didn’t believe that re-signing Brunson alone would be enough to help the Mavs take the next step, perhaps that’s remedied by the Wood addition.
Even if the Mavs simply re-sign Brunson this offseason, they are already a better team heading into next year. Plus, there’s still room for Dallas to make some other smaller deals to bolster their depth.
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The Mavs are a better team today than they were when they lost in the Western Conference Finals. Quite frankly, isn’t that the goal of every team? The Mavs are big winners.