Rockets shift from small ball, sign free agent target Christian Wood.
Sign-and-trade to land top free-agent target Wood ends small-ball era
After going all-in on centerless smallball, the Rockets went all out on Friday to land their next center, hauling in their top target, Pistons free agent Christian Wood.
The Rockets agreed with Wood and with the Pistons on a sign-and-trade deal worth $41million over three seasons, two people with knowledge of the deal said.
Wood will become part of this week’s trade in which the Rockets sent Trevor Ariza and the Trail Blazers’ first-round pick in Wednesday’s draft to the Pistons for a future first-round pick.
To complete the deal, the Rockets will add a second-round pick going to the Pistons and the Pistons will increase the protection on the firstround pick they still owe the Rockets.
The Rockets coveted Wood as the centerpiece of their offseason retooling because his skills mesh not only with how they seek to play with star guards James Harden and Russell
Westbrook, but how they hope to have the offense evolve under new coach Stephen Silas.
Wood, a 6-10 center/forward with a 73-inch wingspan who blossomed as he grew strong enough to play in the middle, has the shooting range with a quick release to bring spacing the Rockets wanted with their small lineups last season, especially for Westbrook.
He is also an upper-echelon pick-and-roll threat and finisher who should work well with Harden. He averaged1.5 points per pick-androll possession, the most in the NBA last season among players that were the roll manin at least two-pick-and-rolls per game.
He also demonstrated an ability to get to the rim off the dribble and finish well with a mix of length and strength.
That variety of skills, along with the ability to switch defensively, made Wood an obvious fit for the Rockets and the most compelling choice to pursue in a free agent class crowded with centers.
Less certain is whether the addition of a center who began last season having to play his way onto the Pistons roster in training camp and who has been on five NBA teams and two G League teams in four seasons would help persuade Harden and Westbrook to stick around.
The risk is that landing Wood will leave the Rockets to fill out the roster with minimum free agent contracts or trades.
The Rockets moved back into the luxury tax for the second time this week and are $9 million from being hard-capped, which would severely limit options in future deals.
They have nine players under contract, not including the undrafted free agents who agreed to deals this week.
With Friday’s deal, the Rockets effectively exchanged Robert Covington for Wood and two firstround draft picks in a span of five days.
The Rockets had tried to trade for Wood in February before he took off after the trade deadline, dramatically improving his stock heading into free agency.
Wood, 25, averaged 13.1 points and 6.3 rebounds in 21.4 minutes per game last season. He erupted after moving into the starting lineup after Andre Drummond was traded, averaging 21.9points and9.4 rebounds as a starter while making 56 percent of his shots and 40.8 percent of his 3s while attempting nearly four 3pointers per game.
Wood had gone undrafted out of UNLV in 2015 when hewas a slender 20-year-old with a suspect shot. He signed with the Rockets’ summer league team that year but was hurt and did not play.
Always an effective finisher, his improved strength allowed him to get into better position to score. His shooting range came next.
Thatmade him one of the top centers available, but the opening hours of the free agent market saw centers rapidly scooped up, making the Rockets’ pursuit of Wood more difficult. But with two going to the Pistons, it made Wood less likely return to the Detroit.
With so many lesser centers — Meyers Leonard, Derrick Favors, Mason Plumlee — agreeing to deals worth roughly the $9.3 million midlevel exception the Rockets have to offer, it became apparent the Rockets would need a sign-andtrade deal to land Wood.
Leonard, a potential Rockets target depending on how things played out, was one of the first to lock up a deal. The Rockets were unlikely to start there, but the price it took for the Heat to bring him back — $20 million over two years — could have set the market for other centers on their list.
Though the Heat will bring Leonard back with a Bird exception, his landing a contract worth roughly the equivalent of the larger midlevel exception, starting at $9.3 million.
As the night went on, Derrick Favors agreed to a similar deal to leave the Pelicans and return to the Jazz and his former role as Rudy Gobert’s backup.
Clippers center Montrezl Harrell, a former Rockets draft pick and the Sixth Man of the Year this season, agreed to a full midlevel deal to move down the hall to join the champion Lakers.
The price for centers became apparent when Plumlee, another potential Rockets target, jumped from the Nuggets to the Pistons for $25 million over three years.
By then, it seemed certain Wood was moving on. The Rockets made sure it was to them.