yeah, i'm not huge on being on the "jason kidd" side of any argument, tbh. not sure what the deal with wood/kidd was, but it's a bad look for both, imo. sure; mo speights was junk until gs had the right role for him (same with livingston, who was washed). is that wood here? maybe.
Nice to see those highlights of Wood blocking shots. That's something he can definitely do. As I've mentioned, I'm good with this signing at the minimum in a position of need for us. The fact that he's fallen this far out of favor works to our advantage in terms of him showing what he can do here. He really needs to play well for his basketball future given how much he's bounced around and how low his current stock is. But he's got the talent to do well here. And at the vet min, he's a bargain. Hopefully he plays well for us like Monk did for the min, and Walker did at the MLE.
What do you call it when a born again believer wakes up hard? Spoiler: Don't Click It - Just Don't. Christian Wood
Wood looks great in videos. But I do agree to a certain point that he didn't have a similar situation like he finds in LA. He can definitely have a career year with us (not stat wise maybe, but in terms of asserting himself in the league). Had a look at his career: - projected early as 1st round, gets undrafted by Philly after playing summer league with Houston - Gets waived in January (not typical) - plays G-league - signs with Hornets to play G-league - goes to the Bucks, gets waived in March - goes to NOLA to play the minutes AD didn't want to play when he asked out. Shows some promise with extended minutes - gets waived in the summer - picked up by Detroit, is putting some stats, COVID happens - late in the year, Houston sign-and-trades for him (giving up Beef Stewart) - gets 31/17 on his debut - Harden is traded - Gets injured - team loses 17 straight without him - a year later gets suspended 1 game for bad behaviour - Goes to Mavs. Kidd announces he will be coming off the bench, he didn't like - as a starter he avg 20/9.4. Ended up with 16-7-1blk in 26min - season of ups and downs. When he started, Mavs got the biggest winning streak of the decade (7w). But he also ended up with 9-8 in those starts. It seems to always exist some justification for when it goes wrong. But in the end he got waived 3 times and honestly only got one good deal in 8 years (3/41 by Houston). Was never re-signed by a team, that's not good
https://theathletic.com/4844042/202... slots in as,in certain matchups and blowouts. Lakers depth chart predictions: How Christian Wood’s signing changes the rotation By Jovan Buha 4h ago 5 After signing Christian Wood, the Los Angeles Lakers’ offseason is officially complete, just a few weeks away from the starting of training camp in early October. Despite signing a veteran’s minimum contract, Wood is expected to have a considerable role for the Lakers off the bench, flanking Anthony Davis in two-big lineups and helping hold down the paint when Davis rests. The Lakers’ crowded rotation is even more cramped now. How does the Lakers’ depth chart and rotation change? Let’s take a look. First, the depth chart. Lakers' depth chart 2.0 STARTERS BENCH BENCH PG D'Angelo Russell Gabe Vincent Jalen Hood-Schifino SG Austin Reaves Max Christie Maxwell Lewis SF Rui Hachimura Taurean Prince Cam Reddish PF LeBron James Jarred Vanderbilt C Anthony Davis Christian Wood Jaxson Hayes And then the updated rotation. Reminder: Projections are bound to change with new intel during training camp and the preseason. Playing time and roles inevitably will fluctuate. Injuries, matchups, performance swings and game script will shift circumstances. This is an approximation of where things stand currently. Let’s examine each position, noting the presumed starter, backups, alternative options and rotational adjustments. Point guard Starter: D’Angelo Russell Backup: Gabe Vincent Alternatives: Austin Reaves, LeBron James, Jalen Hood-Schifino Point guard is one of two positions that aren’t altered by the Wood signing (the other being shooting guard). The starting spot remains an open competition, but Russell is the early favorite based on his pedigree, contract and the team’s success with him in that role last season. It also benefits the Lakers to uphold Russell’s trade value in the potential, if not likely, scenario they shop him for a rotational upgrade at the 2024 trade deadline. Vincent, whose theoretical role should be similar to the departed Dennis Schröder, is a legitimate threat to at least steal closing minutes. Remember: After the trade deadline last season, Russell (30.9 minutes) played slightly more than Schröder (28.6) overall but averaged fewer minutes in the fourth quarter (8.0 minutes for Russell compared to 8.5 for Schröder). The bet here is Russell starts and plays slightly more, but Vincent replaces Schröder as a Darvin Ham favorite and closes games more often than not. In many ways, this position comes down to a mix of 3-point shooting (where Russell has the edge) and defense (where Vincent has the edge). Despite the two players serving as nominal point guards, the ball is going to run through James and Reaves plenty, especially in the more important moments. Reaves has stated he wants to play more point guard next season, which is in line with the team’s plans. Therefore, this position is ultimately about high-level secondary ballhandling and playmaking, spotting up off the ball and not being picked on defensively. Hood-Schifino projects as a casualty of the team’s depth, with at least 12 players ahead of him in the rotation. He will probably play most of his minutes in the G League. Shooting guard Starter: Austin Reaves Backup: Max Christie Alternatives: Cam Reddish, Vincent, Russell Since the last projection, Reaves impressed in the FIBA World Cup as one of the team’s better players and consistent closers. He should carry that momentum into a pivotal third season in which he has external expectations for arguably the first time in his career. Reaves is pegged to play 33 minutes per game, one more than the previous forecast. He’s continually proving he’s more than capable of running an offense at the highest levels. This is the most straightforward position on the roster. Christie is the early backup after his remarkable summer league play and the way his 3-and-D skill set fits seamlessly into bench units. Reddish will get a shot to fill backup two and three minutes, but he must shoot and defend better than he has over his first four seasons. Vincent and Russell can also both scale up to shooting guard and play alongside each other in smaller backcourt configurations, a Ham staple if there ever was one. Small forward Starter: Rui Hachimura Backup: Taurean Prince Alternatives: Christie, James, Reddish, Reaves, Vanderbilt In previous iterations of this exercise, there was a dearth of wing options. Now, there are almost too many. A good problem to have, to be sure, but a problem nonetheless. One of the strengths of the Lakers’ frontcourt is the players’ interchangeability. They can all play together, forming different types of lineups — big, small, fast, shooter-centric, etc. James, Hachimura, Vanderbilt and Prince can play at either forward spot, while Davis, Wood and Jaxson Hayes are primarily fours or fives. Having said all that, Hachimura is the team’s starting small forward. He’s coming off a stellar playoff run in which he established himself as part of the Lakers’ future core, averaging 12.2 points per game on a 66.8 true shooting percentage while making 48.7 percent of his 3s. With the Lakers paying him about $17 million annually, and Hachimura providing the best blend of offense and defense among the non-James/Davis frontcourt options, he’s the player tasked with handling the primary wing assignments. Recent pictures of Hachimura at the Lakers’ training facility indicate he’s slimmed down in preparation for spending more time as a wing on next season’s roster. Prince is the backup three, but he can slide up to four when the Lakers need more shooting and speed. Reddish also will be in the mix for minutes, although it’s difficult to find a rotation spot for him unless it comes at the expense of Prince and/or Christie, who are both superior spot-up shooters and on-ball defenders. Power forward Starter: LeBron James Backup: Jarred Vanderbilt Alternatives: Hachimura, Davis, Prince, Wood Over the past two seasons, James has played a majority of his minutes at power forward, which makes sense considering his age, mileage and recent injury history. James no longer has the capacity or lateral quickness to check elite perimeter scorers for 30-plus minutes each game. He can do so in spurts and ramp up his efforts in the playoffs, but it’s too much to ask a soon-to-be-39-year-old entering Year 21 to do it every night. One of the significant issues with the Lakers’ projected two-big lineups next season is that it would force James to play down at small forward, at least during starting and closing portions of the game. It’d be one thing if the Lakers had guards capable of defending bigger wings, like they did on the 2019-20 team with Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green and Alex Caruso. But they don’t have those players this season, at least not in the starting lineup. Christie could grow into the role, but there’s presumably a cap to how large his role can get this season. (A lineup of, say, Wood, Davis, James, Reaves and Christie could make sense, for example.) Vanderbilt is the greatest casualty of the Wood signing. There are only 144 minutes available across the three frontcourt spots and just 96 at power forward and center, the natural offensive positions for Vanderbilt considering his shooting limitations. Unless Vanderbilt can take a giant leap as a shooter, or the Lakers’ perimeter defense is so porous that they need him regardless of how teams increasingly ignore him, he appears to be on the outskirts of the rotation. That’s especially likely because, in an unsurprising development, Davis wants to play more power forward next season, according to multiple team sources. Both Davis and the Lakers believe there are clear benefits to him enduring less of a physical burden in the regular season. Davis played 99 percent of his minutes at center last season and 76 percent at center the season before, according to Cleaning the Glass. Lakers vice president of basketball operations and general manager Rob Pelinka considers the team’s superstars as stakeholders in the organization and routinely consults James and Davis on notable personnel moves and the direction of the roster. Davis is still expected to start and close games at center, but his percentage of time he spends there should be more akin to the 2021-22 season. ESPN was first to report Davis’ preference. Center Starter: Anthony Davis Backup: Christian Wood Alternatives: Jaxson Hayes, James, Hachimura, Colin Castleton (two-way) Wood immediately slots in as the backup center behind Davis. The two centers will likely play most, if not all, of the 48 available minutes at the five, with a smaller player (James, Hachimura) or Hayes occasionally playing in certain matchups and blowouts. (He’ll also get minutes when Davis inevitably misses time due to injury). Perhaps this projection is too pessimistic with Hayes’ role. But aside from when Davis is out, where exactly are the minutes? Is he going to replace Vanderbilt? Is Hachimura going to have his minutes slashed? Maybe Prince? I just don’t see a realistic scenario for Hayes to get rotation minutes with a full roster. He’s clearly behind Davis, James, Hachimura, Wood, Prince and Vanderbilt in the frontcourt pecking order. Wood basically assumes all of Hayes’ minutes (10 in the previous forecast) and half of Vanderbilt’s minutes. Finding minutes for Hayes would come at the expense of Hachimura, Prince and/or Vanderbilt — a cost that, when factoring in the team’s basic needs of shooting and perimeter defense around James and Davis, doesn’t make sense. The Lakers will use more two-big lineups next season, but that seems more likely to happen against bench units. The challenge for the Lakers’ coaching staff is figuring out the best ways to use Wood and possibly Hayes defensively. They aren’t the same plug-and-play options that JaVale McGee and Dwight Howard were during the championship season (or even Marc Gasol and Andre Drummond, to a lesser extent, during the 2020-21 season). There are legitimate questions about how Wood and Hayes will fit in the Lakers’ defensive scheme and next to Davis. Both are better at defending on the perimeter and in switching schemes than banging in the post and acting as the last line of defense. If the Lakers continue to just have Davis do those things, then the double-center approach will be somewhat moot. This is one of the bigger storylines to monitor in training camp and the preseason.
this is what i've been saying. if AD doesn't want to play c, it has to be about the defensive end, and the centers we signed don't fix that. i think AD's going to have to play center again.
I see confusion and more frustrating lineups in our future. and two stars who probably want to or should play the same position
it's an issue. once lebron became less viable as a sf, it creates some weird lineup situations. ham's first solution was probably the only one: play AD exclusively at center. but AD's not wrong that it would probably save his body a bit to play him at least some minutes at pf. the problem is that the time you want to play AD at pf is to start halves, imo. so can you start wood at center with AD and lebron in the frontcourt and reaves and russell in the backcourt? or will there be major defensive issues? i worry that we couldn't stop anyone. also, we have talented, useful players in rui, prince, and vando that are suddenly all coming off the bench and don't have a lot of minutes to split. i think AD (or lebron) just has to play center.
Yeah I don’t really get it. Wood is a stretch 4 essentially if he plays alongside AD. And he’s smaller than AD on defense so not sure how he eats up minutes as a 5 alongside him. Unless this is just semantics? Hayes I don’t have enough faith to put next to AD for any length of time. Should have signed Biyombo maybe instead? But he’s undersized too at 5. Bottom line is AD in the league at this point is a center. Why won’t he come to terms with this? At least with Wood we have a guy who can take some of AD’s minutes during the regular season. Hayes can get a few too. That should save AD somewhat for the playoffs if we cut him down to around 32 minutes as you suggested. Maybe we play Wood a little with AD but really that still leaves him at the 5. I guess Ham could just placate him and call Wood the 5, lol.
I don't know from AD's perspective: playing C may mean in his head that on this Lakers team he's got to be the primary help defender, rim protector, and rebounder. Which is basically true of last year's team. Wood is not a good 1v1 defender but he's been a decent to above average rim-protecting big and he's a good defensive rebounder. Similar to how Lebron takes defensive possessions off to keep his energy/endurance up, I bet AD just wants to not go balls out every possession on the defense and the glass for this team to succeed. Look at the Olympic team where they basically relied on JJJ and things fell apart when they didn't have a center to match like Memphis does with him and Adams. Lakers depend on AD to play both the JJJ/Adams role that is a lot of energy expended along with the wear and tear
AD's a PF on defense but a center offensively. Lebron guards the non factors on defense so you need a wing to start alongside him. I have my doubts that AD and Hayes can function together offensively but Wood and AD should be efficient. Defensively, neither of our bigs have the bulk to put AD at the 5. We'd better of signing Thompson and Biyombo if that was a goal
Hayes seems like a waste right now in terms of playoff basketball. A combo of Biyombo and Wood at C give the Lakers a lot more lineup flexibility. Not really sure where Haye's fits in right now -he's not a physical 1v1 frontcourt presence like Biyambo and Biyambo has been just overall a better rim protector then him -you can't play him with AD like you can Wood with the spacing issue. Best option for him is just to eat minutes when AD is hurt or needs time off
Don't think so, it was always through "insiders" so he's definitely putting it out there. Yeah I think it's the rebounding. Fighting those big bodies every other possession it takes a toll. He doesn't seem to want to have it. But it's hard to find big Cs who can space the floor so he can be the 5 on offense. We had pretty much the only starter-level one and let him go. I get AD and he proved this year to me that in the right context he can go berserk, so it makes sense to try to accommodate him. We can call him soft or street clothes or whatever, but the man just signed an extension and whether you like him or not, he will be key for our success the next 3 years. Regarding JJJ, Memphis miss Adams because has JJJ shown in Team USA, he can't play center. AD can. So, let's talk scenarios. The Cs that I believe AD want to avoid are Adams, Valenciunas and Gobert. Then maybe Embiid, Poeltl or Nurkic. You think Wood takes Adams? Maybe they throw Rui at him after defending Jokic. Boy, he would get murdered I think Hayes is the best available option. But AD would still be the best option in the team and that's why he has to do it I think Hayes can be nice in our scheme. Play P&R with Dlo or Reaves. Playing with pace like he enjoys. He can bring something off the bench and I imagine he would have a double-double if he starts for AD
AD is going to guard the best big because he’s the best big defender on the team.Wood and Hayes are going to be weak side shot blockers when on the court with AD.This isn’t complicated
AD likes playing the 4 because he's a mismatch every single night on both ends of the floor. At the 5? Not so much. He can get manhandled from time to time.
