3 players Bulls can sign with Disabled Player Exception
By Lior Lampert
2. Christian Wood
After going undrafted in 2015, Christian Wood first showed flashes of the player he has proven he can be with the Pistons during the 2019-2020 season. After that, he was traded to the Rockets later in 2020 in a deal that sent Trevor Ariza and Isaiah Stewart to the Pistons.
Once arriving at the Rockets, Wood became a full-time starter and began to take off. During the 2020-21 season, he averaged 21 points per game and 9.6 rebounds, while shooting over 50 percent from the field, and 37.4 percent from beyond the arc.
At age 25, Wood was quickly proving to be one of the better stretch forwards in the NBA. After having the two best seasons of his career with the Rockets, Houston decided to trade Wood to the Mavericks during the 2022 offseason on the last year of his contract. The Rockets are heavily invested in the development of Jabari Smith Jr. and Alperen Sengun (in addition to just drafting Cam Whitmore from Villanova), it is an already-crowded frontcourt that doesn’t have as much of a need for Wood.
When Wood arrived in Dallas, expectations were high. Wood was a major offseason addition that also didn’t cost the Mavs much to acquire him since he was on an expiring contract. With the Mavs being able to retain their core and add Wood, it felt like a no-brainer decision.
Unfortunately, for both sides, things did not work out as planned. He started only 17 out of the 67 games he played (after starting in 108 out of 109 games with the Rockets), recorded his lowest scoring output since the 2019-2020 season (16.6 points per game), and was a massive liability on the defensive end of the floor to the point that it made it hard for head coach Jason Kidd to keep him on the floor late in games.
While he may not be as highly touted as he once was, Wood is just 27 years old and still shot over 37 percent from three. He is still a very capable player who can contribute on the offensive end of the floor and the Bulls could benefit from adding a scoring/shooting punch behind their trio of DeRozan/Lavine/Vucevic and Wood would certainly fit the bill.