Shortly after the successful play-off run with superstar Luka Doncic, the Dallas Mavericks are working on the squad for the next season. With the first trade of the offseason, the Mavs secure Christian Wood – even if the execution is still pending.
Will probably join the Dallas Mavericks: Christian Wood (left).
imago images/Icon SMI
The Dallas Mavericks made waves in the playoffs. But ultimately the journey in the Conference Finals against the Golden State Warriors, who could already be crowned champions on Friday night, came to an end – the weaknesses of the Mavs were also revealed. According to consistent media reports, at least one construction site seems to have been fixed: Wood is coming to the Mavs from Houston, but the completion should only be announced on the day of the draft.
So Luka Doncic gets a new partner under the basket, while “Big Man” Wood decides for Dallas and thus against the rebuild of the Houston Rockets. With the Rockets, Wood attracted attention in the past regular season with an average of almost 18 points and 10 rebounds in 68 games. Wood, who not only has his qualities in the low post, but is also a surprisingly good three-point shooter, could get along well with Doncic and his playmaking.
What do the Rockets get in return?
The Houston Rockets, who also employ German guard Dennis Schröder, secure four players on the other side. Boban Marjanovic, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss will be turned into Wood with the 26th pick, which the Mavs won’t be allowed to trade until the day of the 2022 NBA draft (June 23). All four did not play a particularly relevant role in the play-offs, but the departure of Marjanovic, with whom he has a very good personal relationship, should hurt Doncic a little.
The bottom line is that both sides will receive meaningful reinforcements for the future. The Rockets will get four players whose contracts will be off the payroll next year and a pick in the upcoming draft. The Mavs, on the other hand, get a bigman that could ease some of the pressure on the Slovenian hopeful and provide important scoring for the offensive – so on paper everything looks like a win-win trade.
