I can think of better ways to spend Tilman's money when it comes to filling out the roster than to pay Christian Wood $20+ million a season. Another thing you're forgetting is Wood's ego. If you don't think he has one then we obviously haven't been watching the same Christian Wood. You think he's going to just fall into a 3rd or 4th option so easily once Green and others improve on this team, after being the main attraction the past couple of years? I can already see the pouting and the lackadaisical efforts he'll put on because he wasn't getting enough shot attempts. Give me some examples of big men in NBA history that has had the same career arc as Christian Wood who later went on to accept and become a 3rd or 4th option.
Where does this mythological ego come from out of someone who signed here for so little to play a 3rd or 4th role to Harden and Westbrook? Where does this idea that he thinks he is a superstar when he has never even made an allstar team and just got his first decent contract from us? I may not have heard every interview of his, but I have never heard this from him and it doesn't make any sense to me considering the contract he signed to play here and who was on our roster then. If you expect him to just stop wanting to improve his game and be the best player he can be because we have rookies that need to develop, well I don't think that is realistic to ask of any player. So I don't see the same ego you see unfortunately. And it's an agreed upon fact that most big men take more years to develop. If you don't agree with that generality, fine. But I'm not going to look up all the big men in history to give you Wood clones to give you his career likelihood, he is different and it was a general statement meant to be taken as such. Besides, I consider him a 3 or 4 anyway and not a 5. He's just 7 foot tall and consider a 5 since he plays that for us.
Honestly I'm not sure if he is 7' or 6'10", and it really doesn't matter as far as the discussion goes. Hakeem was not a troll attempt and what you said about him is true. But I'm not calling Wood a superstar like Hakeem was also. My comparison was that it took Hakeem until is 30s to win a chip and be the best version of HIMSELF. That was the comparison, that Wood may not be a finished product and can still become the best version of himself around 30. In no way was I remotely comparing him in talent to Hakeem the Dream, c'mon, be realistic in evaluating what I'm saying. Also no where did I say he was a complete support player. I listed his flaws and his strengths. I just think it's easier to fix his weaknesses to have a complete support player, than it is to find another complete support player with his offensive skills at his size. There are very few players in the league that are his size that score, rebound and block better. Most if not all of them are allstars or superstars.
Exhibit A: Wood calling Shaq a casual because he was not familiar with Christian's game. Exhibit B: When asked if he's a max contract player, Christian said he believes he is or will be. (starts a 2:40) Exhibit C: Shows great leadership by refusing to come back into a game https://clutchpoints.com/rockets-ne...ence-on-kevin-porter-jr-christian-wood-drama/ Exhibit D: The Ringer article on Wood From Wood's own mouth I hope all of this isn't new information for you if you're that big of a Wood supporter. The reason why I ask for names and examples is because you have kept saying Wood's career path, more or less, is the norm and that we should just accept it rather than criticize it. So if it's the norm for a guy, at the age of 26-27, to go from relatively obscurity to team building block it should be easy to find some examples right? To be transparent: I'm not saying Wood is a bad player. I've said many times that if he didn't sprain his ankle last season Wood would have probably gotten a hard look to be an All-Star reserve. That being said, my expectation for him this year was to build upon what he did last year but also be a leader for this young team. Statistically he's there but I don't see this guy showing any progression in becoming a leader, which is kind of part of being a building block no?
At 23 and in his 2nd year, Olajuwon was the best player on a Rockets team that went to the Finals, was 2nd team All NBA, and had a stat line Wood can only dream of. At one point during the Western Conference Finals against the defending champion Lakers, while I was watching the game, the Lakers allowed an NBC camera into their locker room. It was either at halftime or before the game began, I can't recall. Lakers coach Pat Riley was writing on their black board in big letters, "Contain Olajuwon!" I think you made a mistake bringing up Hakeem. You didn't have to. He was vastly better than Wood the moment he stepped on the court in his first NBA game. The only reason he wasn't Rookie of the Year was because of a guy named Michael Jordan.
I just can't get on board with the hate based on what you have presented here. Shaq has Shaqtin-a-fool for a reason. All of TNT has been known to make comments about players without really knowing their game. And any player sticking up for themselves whether they are right or wrong is normal. Any player should show building block signs by age 26-27. I feel that averaging a almost 20 and 10 double double at that age is enough to say that a person could improve even more and be the 3rd best player on a championship team averaging 20 and 10. He also gets some steals, blocks and assists as well. As much as people call him a stat padder, he usually gets his points off of very few total shot attempts also. It's not like he is out there ball hogging and taking all the shots to get his points, or people helping him get rebounds like they did for Westbrook. Some are complaining that if he started putting up 30 point double double, even with having assists and steals too, that they are more worried about us winning games and losing position in the lottery, instead of having a player that may be developing and can be a building block. People act like a player with flaws can't improve, and since they made up their minds already, if that player even improves on what they complain about, they don't want that player anymore. It's more like a personal relationship gone bad than it is about winning basketball games.
Agree, and on a non-contending team like ours, we probably shouldn't be handing out $20-25 mil for a role player. Other people mentioned Gordon, that money was a contract for a playoff team, which we're not right now. For others out there, this Org skimped out on a possible Jarrett Allen at $20 mil per. Why should they pay Wood that (or higher). If given same salary, how many NBA GMs would take Wood over Allen? Or over Collins ($23 mil per). If we go by the market, the limit should be $20 mil. If a one way player like Wood is very hard to fit with the team, the offer should be lower to maybe the $15-17 mil range.
Thinking I was comparing Wood's talent to Hakeem just because I brought up his name is an insult to Hakeem, me, yourself and all reading comprehension. I meant that Hakeem was better at 30 than he was his first or 2nd year in the league. That was the only comparison done. Even if you don't agree with that, in no way was I comparing Wood's talent to Hakeem. smh
I give you plenty of kudos for the well thought-out posts and for taking time to write it all out. Takes a lot of patience and care to articulate your thoughts and opinions without diving into the dumbassery we're all accustomed to here. Wood is who he is; expecting him to make any kind of leap or significant improvement at this point in his career is not only asking a lot but would actually be historical given how bigs have progressed. The closest example I can think of is Julius Randle, who didn't become an All-Star level player until year 5 of his career with the Knicks but that required a huge change to his game (working on his 3 point shooting). I don't see what else Wood can improve upon that can get him--or make us believe he deserves--the max-level money he expects. Free throw shooting? The guy hasn't shot over 65% at the line since he's been in Houston. If he makes a huge improvement there, is he going to put himself in a position to draw fouls as a big (e.g. bang down low) or is he still going to float outside on the 3 point line? Defense? If he makes a significant leap on defense from being subpar to being very good that would be historical. I can't remember a player that went from being an average defender to becoming "very good" in his 6th year in the league. Basically, Wood is he who is and that, again, is probably the 3rd or 4th best player on a contending team right now...which we are currently not and probably won't be for next year and the year after that. You might say "well in 3 years time he'll still be able to hit 3s and chip in 14-16 points a night!" and that's probably true but....why are we wanting to (over)pay for a player like that NOW when those types of players (ones that aren't elite at any facet of the game) are pretty much available every offseason, at a significantly cheaper price?
Still amazing to me a stretch 4 that averages 18/10 and shoots 38% from 3 is this universally hated. Those numbers at his age should make him a sure fire building block or centerpiece in a trade for a disgruntled star. If Sengun put up that line we would be screaming he should be an all star. I mean I don’t like him either. He ball hogs, sets the worst picks in the league and plays terrible defense but it’s still mind boggling.
Not sure what size deal Wood will sign and where, but Rockets signing a role player with Bird Rights for $20-25 M the year Wood is a free agent with Bird Rights probably isn't a bad idea if the Rockets use cap space first. Whether it is Wood or someone else, I hope the Rockets have someone lined up with Bird Rights after next season to take advantage of cap space and then the Bird Rights.
sengun's a 19 year old rookie. Of course if he was able to do that he would be praised. that would signal there's something worth seeing going forward without question in this rebuild. that's just common sense. Not a good comparison at all. wood's already 26. He's no where near a building block for a team in full rebuild where it's going to take years and years to get back to even some level of relevancy. he puts up empty numbers period and that's what he's done to this point
Yes, like you I appreciate to be able to have well thought out rational conversation about our favorite team The Houston Rockets as fans, without it diving into dumbassery that happens on here all too often. So I thank you for that, even if we disagree on issues and what we see or assess on court. I think a couple of points that you make are exactly what I'm speaking about though, especially in my first post in this thread about him. Using your example, Julius Randle had to make a huge leap as you mentioned in his game adding the 3 point shot for example. To me that is much harder to do than what Wood has to improve upon. I don't see Wood ever being a bang down low Center in this league, so that's not my measurement. I don't see Wood making Max-level money either, which by definition is 40-45 million and up per year now. People are speaking about him potentially making 20-25 million per year as if that's max level money, and it isn't. Nor do I personally think he would expect max-level money from any team based on what he has done so far in his career. I think he can improve his free throw shooting for sure. I think it's mental because his form and 3pt shooting says he should be much better at the line. So that's not a skill issue like Shaq or someone, it's a mental issue and can be easier to overcome. If he plays the PF or SF position and maintained his 10 plus rebound average, he would be one of 2 or 3 players in the league at that position that average 10 rebounds or more, with Julius Randle being one of the other two if you count him as a PF. So rebounding he would be elite in as a PF or SF. He also averages this year 2.3 assists, .8 steals, 1.0 blocks and only 1.8 turnovers in only 31 minutes of play. He's better than Juluis Randle in those numbers except assists, as well as having a better FG%, 3Pt%and EFF rating, all on 4.5 minutes less per game. He is the 28th best player in the league out of 450 based on EFF. Yes it's on a much worse team, but those stats can't just be ignored because he isn't a traditional center that can bang with the big boys. So in 3 to 4 years I expect him to be averaging maybe 22 pts more, 11 rebounds, 3 to 4 assists, 1 to 2 blocks, turnovers less than 2, 3Pt % above 36% and FT% above 75%. That would be a steal for a 3rd building block on a championship team making about 20 to 25 million per year. I think any team with Championship aspirations will have a 3rd player producing those numbers and making that much or more.
Do you want or expect us to be contending in 3 to 4 years, or you think it will take 5, 6 or more? What's your best case trajectory for the Rockets to get back to relevance in the Championship conversation? If your plan is for it to be more than 6 years, then I would agree that we need to move Wood for younger pieces. I just personally don't want to wait that long and think with the right moves we can be there in 3 or 4 years, where I think Wood would then be at his best and a valuable 3rd or 4th option.
With that being said, Wood averages on the season before tonight are 18.2 pt per game and 10.1 rebounds per game. Exactly and ONLY 4 Players in the entire league average more points and rebounds per game than him: Nikola Jokic 26.2 points and 13.6 rebounds Domantas Sabonis 18.9 points and 12.1 rebounds Giannis Antetokounmpo 29.7 points and 11.6 rebounds Joel Embiid 29.8 points and 11.3 rebounds That's pretty good company to be the only ones in the league better than you at both points and rebounds, even if you are on the worst team in the league. There are a lot of very bad teams, but none of them have players doing better, including us. To keep only pointing out his flaws and acting like he is cancer to the Rockets and our future is ridiculous.
Actually, the game is ALL ABOUT THE NUMBERS. The team that puts the most points on the board when times runs out is declared the winner. Not the team that is determined to have played better defense, switched better, was tougher, made better decisions, got paid the most or least, etc. The bottom line is the most points on the board is ALWAYS DECLARED THE WINNER! So while defense is important, as long as you outscore your opponent as a team, you get the trophy. Wood's numbers helps with that if he is not playing the 5.
