The NBA offseason trading window has been open for more than a month, most teams have completed the adjustment of the team lineup, and the 15-man roster only has 1 or 2 places left, leaving a glimmer of adjustment during the preseason.
Ahead of the 2022 draft, the Houston Rockets traded Christian Wood to the Mavericks, with Boban Marianović, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke, Marquis Chris and a no. 26 pick in the first round of this year's draft.
Wood leaving the Rockets to join the Lone Rangers is good or bad
Wood is very offensive and can single with the ball, and he loves it.
But the Rockets already have too many players who like to attack with the ball, such as Jaylen Green and Kevin Porter Jr.
In a game in the middle of the 2021-22 season, a verbal conflict broke out between Porter Jr., Wood Jr. and the coaching staff, and Porter Jr. drove away from the court at halftime, and Wood was dissatisfied with the criticism of the coaching staff and refused to appear in the second half.
Although Wood apologized afterwards and returned to the pitch, the team's determination to trade him could not be changed.
In addition, the Rockets drew the draft pick (third pick), and the top three rookies who were favored were all inside players.
The rebuilding Rockets, if they want to rise, must start with rookies, Wood's ability is not enough to become the cornerstone of the team, the team can only give up on him.
The Rockets have been peddling Wood for a long time, and finally got a draft pick from the Lone Ranger at the end of the first round, which is a bonus.
Wood's departure from the team is definitely a benefit to the Rockets.
Why did the Lone Ranger get Wood?
Some people say that Wood is a data "brush", I want to say that even if you brush data, you must have the strength to brush up.
In the regular 2021-22 season, Wood averaged 12.9 shots per game, and could get 17.9 points, 10.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists, shooting 50% from the field and 39% from three-point range.
Wood's outside shots are almost dead-range, with the highest certainty in the bottom left corner (a position where he shoots 50 percent from three-point range). He's a spatial number four with a strong ability to move, which is exactly what the Lone Ranger needs.
Wood's defensive ability, or his ability to interfere with shots to be precise, is also something the Lone Ranger needs to improve in dire need of improvement.
Most of the people who say Wood's defense is poor are saying that he is not defensively aggressive enough.
To be fair, in a team like the Rockets that is in a period of reconstruction, full of rot, competing for the title, it is difficult for players to maintain a positive defensive attitude all the time.
There are too many people in the Rockets who are poorly defended, and do the people like Green and Porter have any defensive ability on the court?
Wood, on the other hand, ranks 10th in the league for his jammed shots and 4th in the league for his jammed three-point shots, and he can bring enough distraction to his opponent's outside shots, and that's the value.
After Wood's defense, let's take a look at the Lone Ranger's interior player performance last season.
Boban played only 23 games, averaging just five minutes per game, almost negligible.
Bertans is a typical high-altitude turret player, only shooting empty three-pointers, slow foot movement, defensively on the inside, too thin, insufficient ability to fight, outside defense can not keep up with the rhythm of offensive players, the most terrible thing is that his annual salary is still higher than Wood.
Powell averages 8 points and 5 rebounds per game, has no independent offensive ability, is a standard blue-collar player, interferes with shooting ability ranks 59 in the league, interferes with outside shooting ability ranks 124th in the league, and can not prevent the outside line.
No matter how bad Wood's defense is, he is also better than the current interior players of the Lone Rangers.
Finally, the Lone Ranger has a good chance of using Wood.
Kidd is a head coach who is very good at grasping defense, and in his first season in office, he trained the lone ranger who ranked 20th in the NBA in defensive efficiency in the 2020-21 season into a team with the seventh most defensive efficiency.
Referring to Wiggins' time as a Timberwolf, his wind rating was extremely poor, and he was considered to have won a big contract and began to play health basketball.
As a result, after being traded to the Warriors, Wiggins has grown into a defensive champion of the championship team in only 2 years.
Taking Wiggins as an example, it's not that Wood will be like Wiggins (both are in different positions), but just to show that the same player's performance on tanks and playoff teams can be diametrically opposite.
The old owner has a reason why he must send Wood away, and the new owner also happens to need the ability he has, and finally see if Wood is personally satisfied with the deal?
Wood was the jewel of the NBA Draft, and after losing the election, he went through six teams in the first five seasons of his career.
Fortunately, through personal efforts, he got a 3-year, $41 million contract with the Rockets, and the money was earned, but he had never played the playoffs.
The playoffs appeal is huge for a young player who is only 26 years old, and Wood hopes to join a team with playoff prowess.
The Lone Ranger made it to the Western Conference Finals last season, and with players like Doncic, it's not hard to get a playoff ticket.
In addition to the playoffs, Wood must want a valuable contract extension, his previous contract has 1 year left, if you want to get a big contract, you must play a beautiful personal data in the 2022-23 season.
The Lone Ranger used Doncic, the master of the organization, and even the blue-collar player Powell, who was fed a career-high shooting percentage (67%), and after Wood joined, with his athleticism and projection ability, it was not difficult to play a dazzling stat.
Whether it is personal development or the overall strength of the team, compared to the old owner Rockets, the Lone Ranger is a better choice, presumably Wood must be very satisfied with the deal.
The Rockets have got what they want, sent Wood away, got a first-round pick, and made a deal with the Timberwolves, trading the No. 26 pick for the No. 29 pick, signing rookie Tate Washington (guard), and two future second-round picks.
The collaboration between the Lone Ranger and Wood is a great fit on paper, but it will take time to test.
The answer to whether Wood can get the next big contract and whether the Lone Ranger can break through the record is hidden in the NBA's 2022-23 season.