The Dallas Mavericks brokered a trade with the Houston Rockets. The team around Luka Doncic grabs Big Man Christian Wood, in return, crowd favorite Boban Marjanovic has to pack his bags.
As ESPN and The Athletic unanimously report the Mavs are sending fan-favorite Marjanovic, Marquese Chriss, Trey Burke and Sterling Brown to Houston and securing Wood’s services for themselves. The Rockets also get the Mavs’ 26th pick in the upcoming draft. Since the Mavs have already given their first rounder 2023 to the Knicks, the trade can only be completed on the day of the draft.
The 26-year-old Wood averaged 17.9 points and 10.1 rebounds for the Rockets last season, hitting 50.1 percent from the field and 39.0 percent of his three-pointers. The Big Man is entering his final year of contract and will get $14.3 million in 2022/23.
The Mavs thus get the center they need after the conference finalists had almost exclusively Dwight Powell and Maxi Kleber at their disposal in the playoffs. None of the players dropped were in head coach Jason Kidd’s playoff rotation.
Dallas Mavericks get Big Man
The Rockets, in turn, are making room in the big positions, especially for rookie Alperen Sengün, without raising any long-term money. Marjanovic (3.5m), Brown (3), Burke (3.3) and Chriss (2.2) all have contracts expiring in 2023. In addition, the Rockets now hold three first-round picks in the upcoming draft (3, 17, and 26).
Rumors of a Wood trade persisted in Houston, as on the one hand it was considered too old for the rebuild and on the other hand there were always problems in the dressing room with Wood. In early January, the franchise suspended Big for a game after he and Kevin Porter Jr. clashed with assistant coach John Lucas at halftime.
The Big Man signed a $41 million deal in Houston in 2020 after breaking through with the Detroit Pistons. In 2015, Wood went empty-handed in the draft, mainly because of concerns about his character (undrafted) and played for Philadelphia, Charlotte, Milwaukee and New Orleans in the following years, but was fired from each.
The trade at a glance
| received Mavs | received rockets |
| Christian Wood | Boban Marjanovic |
| – | Trey Burke |
| – | Sterling Brown |
| – | Marquese Chriss |
| – | 26. Pick Draft 2022 |
