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 came to an agreement with Wood and with the Pistons on a sign-and-trade deal worth $41 million over three seasons, two individuals with knowledge of the deal said. ESPN was first to report the agreement.
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 first-round pick they still owe the Rockets.
The Rockets coveted Wood as the centerpiece of their offseason retooling because of a variety of skills that 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 that should work with Harden. He averaged 1.5 points per pick-and-roll possession, the most in the NBA last season among players that were the roll man in at least two pick-and-rolls per game.
He also demonstrated an ability to attack closeouts as last season progressed with the Pistons, getting to the rim off the dribble and finishing well with a mix of length and strength.
That variety of skills, along with an ability to switch defensively, made Wood look like 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 that began last season having to play his way onto the Pistons roster in training camp and has been on five teams and two G League teams in four seasons would help convince Harden and Westbrook that they would be well-served to stick around.
The risk is that Wood became such a coveted free agent with just one impressive season and that the move 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, with nine players under contract, not including the undrafted free agents that agreed to deals this week. But with the agreement with Wood, the Rockets effectively exchanged Robert Covington for Wood and two first-round 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 took off when he moved into the starting lineup after Andre Drummond was traded, averaging 21.9 points and 9.4 rebounds as a starter while making 56 percent of his shots, 40.8 percent of his 3s while attempting nearly four 3-pointers per game.
Wood had gone undrafted out of UNLV in 2015 when he was a slender, 20-year-old with a suspect shot. He signed with the Rockets’ summer league team 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.
That made him one of the top centers available, but the opening hours of the free agent market saw centers rapidly scooped up, many going to the Pistons, to make the Rockets’ pursuit of Wood more difficult, but also making him less likely return to Detroit where he enjoyed his breakthrough season.
With so many centers – Meyers Leonard, Derrick Favors, Mason Plumlee – all agreeing to deals worth roughly the $9.3 million mid-level exception the Rockets have to offer, there was growing potential that it would take cap space the Rockets do not have or a more complicated sign-and-trade deal for anyone 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 they could pursue.
Though the Heat will bring Leonard back with a Bird exception, his landing a contract worth roughly the equivalent of the larger mid-level exception, starting at $9.3 million, could increase what it would take to sign other free agent centers.
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, the former Rockets draft pick and the Sixth Man of the Year this season, agreed to a full mid-level 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.
The Pistons, by then, seemed certain to have Wood moved on. The Rockets made sure it was to them.
"center" - Google News
November 21, 2020 at 10:31AM
https://ift.tt/390Ggaz
Rockets add center Christian Wood in free agency - Houston Chronicle
"center" - Google News
https://ift.tt/3bUHym8
https://ift.tt/2zR6ugj
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Rockets add center Christian Wood in free agency - Houston Chronicle"
Post a Comment