The Mavs retain center Christian Wood for now
The Mavs’ market movement started and ended with Kyrie Irving. Christian Wood will stay in the paint in Dallas at least until the summer.
The Dallas Mavericks had already done their job in the trade market before the clock ran out. The trade for Kyrie Irving left them without two heavyweights on the roster, men who helped bring them to the conference finals last year; guard Spencer Dinwiddie and forward Dorian Finney-Smith.
The controversial Australian-born point guard clearly aspires to create a Herculean association with Luka Doncic, becoming a brand new star in the Texas firmament and throughout the NBA. But that is where it ends. There have been no more changes to the Mavs lineup over the final furlong of the transfer market, and that includes hanging onto Christian Wood, their key man on the inside.
During this last month Wood and his representatives have entered into conversations with the franchise for a contract extension. With his contract ending this summer, decision makers Harrison and Cuban won’t tolerate the same thing that happened to Jalen Brunson last year. Signing as a free agent with the Knicks rather than as a trade meant that Brunson’s departure gave no dividends to Dallas.
In the end, of the three main players not named Doncic, Wood is the only one who has stayed in Dallas. After the departure of Kristaps Porzingis, Wood has remained the most sought-after internal resource, more than Powell or Kleber, and all of the Mavericks’ options in 2023 must inevitably go through him. Even if Luka and Kyrie love and dominate, you have to have a quality center if you want to go far in the playoffs and, with no other alternatives on the horizon, for now it is going to have to be Christian Wood.