Detroit Pistons take a chance on center/forward Christian Wood

The Detroit Pistons have finished revamping their roster as they’ve seemingly added the final piece another big man.  The Pistons have claimed 23-year old center/power forward Christian Wood off of waivers from the New Orleans Pelicans.

The New Orleans Pelicans have had quite an offseason, they have been the talk of the town.  First, they traded an MVP caliber player in Anthony Davis to the LeBron Lakers; I mean the Los Angelas Lakers in exchange for basically everyone besides James himself. The Pelicans received Lonzo Ball (21), Brandon Ingram (21), Josh Hart (24), and three first-round picks.  The Pelicans were also awarded the Zion Williamson sweepstakes by winning the NBA draft lottery. Plus they added sharpshooter J.J Redick and big man Derrick Favors to go with Jrue Holiday and Jahlil Okafor.  This left a young big man in Christian Wood expendable, and the Detroit Pistons decided to take a low-risk flier on him.

Wood a 6’10 center/forward spent time between both the Milwaukee Bucks & the New Orleans Pelicans last season but in New Orleans, is where Wood would see the most minutes of his young career.  It was only a sample size, but Wood played 23.6 minutes on average through eight games with the Pelicans.  In that time he averaged 16.9 points per game, shot 53% from the field, collected 8 boards per game and was nearly 76% from the free-throw line.  He also recorded 1.3 blocks & 0.8 assists a game during this stretch.

Don’t forget that was a very small sample size but he may be an upgrade to Thon Maker and a capable backup to Andre Drummond, something the Detroit Pistons need very much. Wood has also spent a brief period of time in both Charlotte and Philidelphia.

He’s played in 51 career NBA games and totaled much lower averages than he had shown last year in a small stint with New Orleans. One thing that does pop out is that he’s shot a respectable 31% from three in his young career.  That isn’t a number that will leave you with your jaw towards the floor but for a center that is a bonus. I mean Drummond shot 13% from three last season and 0% two seasons ago.  Yes, we’d prefer if he were never to attempt another long ball. But to insert a player like Wood who can knock one down here or there will undoubtedly help the second-team offense.

Wood is guaranteed to make $822,000 if he’s on the Detroit Pistons opening night roster.  If he is a player that sticks with the team, he will total $1.6 million next season still leaving the Detroit Pistons as a whole under the luxury tax. It’s a low-risk move for the Pistons, so why not take a flier on a 23-year old big man that had shown some promise at the end of last season? It’s much better than signing a dinosaur like Pau Gasol for a season.